Into the Flames of Endless
by Crimson Ventus
Summary: A group of adventurers decided to enter the Endless Tower. Bearing reasons of their own, will their dreams come true? Or is Endless exactly what it was told to be; a journey towards death? A darker and edgier story featuring 3rd job professions!
1. Prologue

**A/N: **

This is a revised version of our previous story with the same title. The purpose of this was to showcase the plot's background and have the storyline flow better.

This is not my work alone, but a collaboration with Rottensentence. She does the artwork for this ff. Please visit my profile if you're interested in our Character Banner for this story. The sketch includes all of our characters that will be introduced in the next two chapters!

Now then, onwards!

* * *

Prologue

A great war between men and monsters took place five hundred years ago. No man knows where these monsters came from or why they have waged war. But in order to save humanity, the humans had no choice but to fight back.

Warriors have witnessed many monstrosities during the war but the worst of them all were beings of intelligence. The highest classes of monsters were strong, powerful divine beings who were virtually immortal and held high positions within their hierarchy. Humans called them the Monsters of the Vast Pandemonium due to their immense destructive power that even one can bring. And amidst this dark army was their leader – Naght Seiger.

These monsters were proven to be too powerful for men when the outcome was one-sided from the very beginning. Men were discouraged, losing morale and hope when faced with countless defeats. On their peak of despair, the ruling King called out to Odin, the ruler of Asgard, to save the people of his Kingdom. Asgardians usually do no interfere in human relations; however, this war was an anomaly as the enemies were not humans themselves.

In response to the King's plea, Odin himself confronted Naght and in all his benevolence, gave him a chance to surrender. As proud as Naght was, even if he knew he could not win against the major god, he did not subdue or flinch an inch in the presence of the Allfather. Shaking his head in solace, Odin thrust his spear upwards where a tall dark prison tower made of bricks and built with a hundred floors appeared above them. Naght and all of his loyal subjects were sealed and confined in this very tower for eternity. Odin had sent the tower to a hollow dimension where Naght and his army could never do harm to anyone ever again.

* * *

To say that peace has been brought back to the Kingdom is not quite right as Midgard is not the same as before. It was the beginning of a new age as men and monsters began to co-exist in the human world. During Odin's and Naght's confrontation, there were monsters of different classes who willingly surrendered to Odin as they were not too fond of the idea on being sealed for an eternity. In accordance to Odin's command, these monsters were scattered around Midgard to be hunted countless times by humans; in exchange for the lives they took, as their punishment. Cursed with reincarnation powers; they were to be reincarnated again once they die.

Nonetheless, after the war was finally over, the King decided to burn all evidence related to the war in hopes that the people of Midgard would forget about that time of turmoil and calamity. Only a handful of documents about the Monsters of the Vast Pandemonium, known as MVP for short, are stored in the royal library.

As years passed, the emergence of magic and science created a new job system where different professions are allowed to hunt the monsters that have resided in Midgard. Subsequently, many adventurers and travelers emerged from all over the country. Seemingly harmless creatures were even kept as pets. The MVPs have turned into myths and legends as they have not been seen by many. And the Great War is now ancient history; shrouded in hidden truths and fabricated rumors, talked about every now and then. It was truly a time of peace and harmony.

Until ten years ago…

An eerie sky-piercing tower was discovered on the islands of Midgard.


	2. The Forgotten Notice

**A/N:**

If you've noticed, our story follows closely to the game settings - the "MVP", the items, the skills, etc. We're trying to include the elements of the game and make it as realistic as possible. But what fun if it's _too_ realistic? Humor is needed everywhere!

Enjoy!

* * *

The Forgotten Notice

Attention!

The Kingdom of Rune Midgard is hereby recruiting

powerful, courageous, proud and tenacious warriors across the continent

in order to battle and conquer the malicious Endless Tower.

Combatants, mercenaries and adventurers who are interested and wants to join the gallant Royal Army,

enlist yourself with the Prontera Chivalry.

If you shall succeed,

the title of Hero will be bequeathed upon you.

Glory will be yours. Wealth will be yours.

But above all, you will bring honor to your family name and your valiant deed will be known worldwide.

King Tristan III

Ruler of Rune Midgard

* * *

A decade has past.

The Royal Notice has been replaced with new ones.

Flyers and simple notices used to be distributed in every town, across the capital and all the way to the outskirts of each region.

Some posters still remained but the nearly dried paste was barely supporting the thin paper against the walls of back alleys. Now shriveled due to water and colored like burnt sienna. Worn out. And long forgotten.

Some did not bother, some were too afraid and some refused to remember of the horrible events that took place one after another ten years ago.

Women were waiting for their husband, children were waiting for their fathers and siblings, families were waiting for their relatives, but every single one of them who went up the tower never came back, never to be seen again.

The Endless Tower.

The cause of all unwanted memories and sacrifices.

* * *

The tower was first discovered by sailors ten years ago when they chanced upon it during their journey home. Nobody knew where it came from, who built it or what it was used for. It just stood there magnificently as if it was on its rightful place all along.

Once news of the discovery has traveled to the ears of King Tristan III; his Majesty immediately recognized the tower to be the one from the old stories told by his ancestors that only the royal blood were privileged of. It may become a threat to his Kingdom if leave be. However, there was a lack of active infantries and royal army due to a prior incident that occurred in Morroc.

After careful deliberation to solve the said problem, the King issued a Royal Notice to recruit brave men across the continent in order to challenge what was known then as the Endless Tower. Various people responded to the King by joining the expedition to uncover whatever mysteries that may lie inside the tower. But little did the King know what he was really dealing with.

Each group of men who went inside the tower never came back. Each squad, unit, troops who went in was never allowed to turn back. After sacrifices upon sacrifices, the King finally realized his grave mistake and ordered the halt of the impossible mission. It was proven to be too dangerous for any men to venture into the unknown territory. Since then, the King forbade anyone from entering the tower and words of the dead were not to be spoken about again…

XxxxxX

"But _that_ was not the last of it." A spiky-haired ranger in mahogany uniform claimed with his suspenseful tone. His black eyes wide with expectations.

"I heard that people still venture into the Endless Tower from time to time. For the loots and the gold! The treasures that lie within."

"How would you know? It's not like you've been in there have you? As far as we all know, nobody, and I mean _nobody_ has ever lived to tell the tale."

A roar of laughter echoes through the now crowded open-air pub of Goa Stgo situated at the north part of the city known as the Beach Town.

The ranger seemed unaffected by the apparent statement, "Fools. Of course there are survivors! You people are just ignorant about it," said the ranger who was standing on the middle of a round table. "Besides, I reckoned the people who went there are left with half a brain when they managed to get out," he snickered as he continued.

"But who cares. I'm in it for the zeny," he said as he bend his knees to a squatting position, saying in a low voice, "Imagine the rare goods you could obtain from slaying some of the myth MVPs that we've all heard about."

Silence fell for a mere few seconds until a question popped up. "Like what?"

The ranger shot up straight, hands in the air and started naming some of the rare MVP drops.

"Tiaras! Coronet! Red Silk Seal, Hunting Spear, Ring of Flame Lord and Resonance, Staff of Destruction, Book of the Dead, and invaluable Valkyrie Sets for ALL of us!"

"And don't forget the ultimate goal, the legendary Twin Edge of Naght Seiger Blades."

Clenching his fist with determination, he stated the obvious conclusion, "You'll be rich for the rest of your lives and fame would be bestowed upon you." The ranger paused for a bit before continuing, "If you come back sane that is."

Multiple pair of eyes were gleaming, their thoughts turning into images of the citizens cheering, confetti raining down on the city, sitting on horses to make their way to see the King. Which stubborn men in this era have not once thought of that glorious ending?

Seeing the expressions that he anticipated, the ranger was pleased. All the persuasion, dramatic story-telling, so-called brainwashing was all for the heat of this very moment. The moment for him to announce the sole purpose of visiting the ever-partying and the rowdiest city in Rune Midgard. "Everyone, listen up. I came here bearing an ambition. I, Kyler Avapheus, am officially announcing that I am here tonight to recruit for an Endless Tower expedition once again."

"So, WHO'S WITH ME?"

The crowd went silent...

What remained was the sound of the ice in a glass, clinking.

"Ookayyy. Let me guess, you guys are all cowards just wasting your time and fooling around in a pub, I get it now."

Silence was now accompanied by death glares.

Other than the jabbing sensation of a thousand needles, Kyler could feel holes burning through his whole body but he did not flinch one bit. There's no way he would falter.

Someone finally broke what can be considered a long, strained stillness. "Don't be ridiculous!" It was an anonymous yell, but still, better than the jarring stares of death.

Before Kyler could finish his thoughts on the worst possible outcome, another scorned, "You DO realize this is pretty much a suicide mission, you're crazy you know!"

"Indeed, but I can change that outcome," he retorted while regaining his confidence. Kyler took this chance to conclude the mini chaos. "Keep this in your skulls wimps, as this Endless Tower party will be the one where everyone will come back with everything and anything they've dreamed of, be it fame or fortune. Anyone of you who still has an ounce of guts left in that questionable third job uniform of yours, meet me tomorrow morning at 10. Alberta."

With that said, murmurs and whispers started to drift in the air.

The ranger jumped down from the table and quickly marched through the horde of people. The result of the recruitment wasn't what he had in mind; he was pretty crestfallen. Could he have possibly underestimated the terror of the tower, so much that the majority of them vigorously refused to accept the successful outcome of it all?

Kyler shook his head while crossing the bridge, trying to erase the negative contemplation. _There's still till tomorrow_, was what he thought. He was about to take his last step off of the bridge to retrieve his warg when a lady in armor approached him. After a brief exchange of conversation, the ranger permanently left the sands of Comodo.

* * *

Alberta. Nine-fifty a.m.

Kyler was walking towards the port area when he saw a man wearing the same uniform as his. He was sitting on the staircase near the port entrance. Most of his body parts were covered in bandages, especially on his right eye, arms and torso.

'_Great..an injured ranger is all I get huh.'_

Kyler raised an eyebrow, at least it's better than none.

"Look at what we have here, a first recruit, well done me."

"..More good news for you," the bandaged ranger said while pointing northwest with his finger.

Two green, dragon-like mounts were resting nearby the old wooden crates with their riders engaging in a conversation. One of them waved at Kyler when she spotted him.

"Two Rune Knights in the crew. And I see more comin' already."

A wanderer, accompanied by her musical partner was approaching the crates as well. They seem to be a couple. While they were walking towards the gathering spot, white and blue rays flashed as a handsome young man in his cathedral robes arrived via Warp Portal.

Few more members arrived in the span of twenty minutes.

The ranger gave a satisfied smirk at the result.

As the party walked further down towards the deck, they were stopped by an increasingly loud pair of footsteps.

"Waiiiit for usss!"

A sorcerer was yelling and signaling them to wait as he ran clumsily towards the bunch while a white-haired warlock walked behind him.

"That makes fourteen of us, the more the better, let's go then!"

* * *

**A/N:**

Any suggestions or constructive criticisms are very welcome. Thanks a lot for even clicking the title of this story, we really appreciate it. Please also click review when you have the time xD. Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	3. Acquaintanceship

**A/N:**

To make things clear, here are some** ET rules** to get started;

1. Resurrection does not exist in this story. Resurrection does not exist anywhere. Period.

2. Healing takes time; the heavier the injury, the longer it takes. Broken bones are impossible to heal by normal means.

3. Any type of teleportation skills does not work in the tower and Misty Island itself. =(

4. Vacuum Extreme does not work on MVPs.

As for our characters, Bon voyage!

Not.

* * *

Acquaintanceship

Sounds of waves crashing against the piers and the faint squawks of seagulls in the distant could be heard on this cloudy morning. Various marine vessels such as merchant ships and fishing boats are docked on the harbor, some of which have just arrived while others waiting for the next scheduled departure. The harbor located in the port city Alberta does not only serve as an international trading port, but also the gateway to many of the cultural towns and dungeons. The gentle ocean breeze is always pleasing to many, but not today, especially to an anxious bunch who are about to embark on a dangerous mission, their future uncertain.

"What is the organizer doing? I feel like an idiot waiting here," hands on her hips, a rune knight with brownish-orange hair complained. She had big orange curls that descents all the way to her chest, a fringe cut to go with it, and a beauty mark under her left eye that adds to her femininity. The rest of the group members were hanging around the crates; some were sitting and some were pacing in different directions, feeling restless.

"Perhaps he is looking for someone who can take us to our uncommon destination…?" the more mature looking female rune knight of the two replied while placing a bag of supplies on her mount, the breeze sweeping her long, wavy lavender strands of hair every so often.

"Then he should've done that beforehand! What kind of irresponsible organizer does this sort of thing last minute anywa-"

"Sorry for the wait. And keep your complains to yourself, missy." A sudden voice came from behind the girl. It belonged to none other than Kyler. Standing beside him was a bearded old man dressed up in a sailor's outfit, complete with a ship captain's hat.

"Ahoy, ya mateys!" The sailor greeted aloud. "So yerr' the ones that'll be going to the endless tower eh, that's quite'er number I see, definitely more than the previous ones I've fetched." He took out his pipe and puffed, his voice lowered. "Which took place some years ago…"

The last sentence caught a certain royal guard's attention. "You mean you've been there before?" He inquired.

"That's right ya young lads! Name's Jansen, Captain Jansen Roy Brown at yer service. Been sailing fer more than forty yers, been to more than fifty islands, sailing to the wreck that's Endless Tower is nuffin' compared to what I've gone through. This guy ya'll call Kyler sure knows how to find the right captain, ahahaha!" chuckled the captain as he slapped Kyler on the back, hard, receiving a glare from the irritated ranger.

"Jansen, get to the point already."

"Capt' Jansen, ya mean." Jansen corrected him, sucking his pipe he continued. "Alright young lads! Befor' I set sail with me ship, I'd suggest ya pay up yer zeny first, there's no such thing as free trips on this one! Ten grand from each of ya!" The last line ticked off nearly everyone on the spot.

"That's the cheapest he can offer." Kyler shrugged.

"You're joking right? That's a lot for merely boarding the ship!" A female arch bishop from the party gasped in disbelieves.

"What a rip-off!" Another member followed suit.

"Ya think it's easy to reach the island? It is none other than I who knows d' way, plus this is fer the supplies fer me ship!" Jansen exclaimed. Grumbles and mutters were heard within the crowd. Hesitantly, one by one, they gave Jansen their fare.

Satisfied with the amount, the captain walked off to the harbor, leading the way. "Don't worry young lads, it'll also count for yer trip back here, if yer can make it back alive that is, ahahahaha!"

"…."

"What are you people waiting for then? Let's go." Kyler said while giving the "go" sign by tilting his head a little before following up to the captain.

The rest held back for a while before heading off to their direction.

* * *

The wooden sailing ship was slowly making its way out of the harbor and off to the vast sea. Beige-colored sails flagged out magnificently, allowing the wind to guide the ship to its destination.

The adventurers were settling themselves on the medium-sized ship and putting their belongings away. After eating a light meal separately, they were gathered on the deck.

Leaning on the mast of the ship with his arms crossed, Kyler initiated the conversation. "Seeing how we're still on the way. Let's introduce ourselves shall we? We'll be working as a team after all. I'll start first, I'm-"

"You're Kyler, we know at least that much from the person who started all this." He was cut off by a higher pitched voice.

"And Miss Impatient here is Gwenalyn." Kyler gestured. Gwen responded with a pouty face at the spiky haired ranger, "meanie" she whispered lowly. Flipping her orange curls, she proceeds to introduce herself further. "Orrrr you can call me Gwen." She then hooked her right arm on to the calm-looking rune knight's. "This is my childhood friend and senior, Alyth Kingsley."

The said rune knight nodded as she greeted the group. "Hello, nice to meet all of you."

Without wasting time, the minstrel took off his feathered minstrel hat and held it to his chest to introduce himself and his other half.

"Hey there, I'm Jack Majoris and this is my wife Leyra," said the minstrel.

His wife greeted them with a graceful spun and smiled. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Heh, I don't really care about your names, but I'll say mine anyway, I'm Luke Wistara." A male blonde spoke up. "I'm pretty sure you guys would need someone to store your goods and all." He added jokingly, his slim potions clinking softly on his belt strap from the slight movement.

A tall man, probably the tallest member in the party, clad in full golden-yellow armor; even more heavily protected than the rune knight's, with short auburn hair and light brown eyes to match, introduced himself after the genetic. "Resplen O'Ryan is the name."

"Oooh we have similar names, you and I. Reseph here." Surprised by the similarity of their names, the arch bishop chimed in enthusiastically. He was wearing the standard white bishop uniform but the blue fabric was replaced with a creamy-gold one complimented with dark brown details. His brilliant cyan blue eyes wandered to a fellow clergy standing adjacent to him, "And who might this beautiful lady be?"

"Oh..uhm..I'm Enora, pleased to meet you all." The pink-haired female bowed courteously.

"I'm known as the great Axentrio. Just so you know, I'm not your ordinary sorcerer and ladies love me," the man with a ponytail boasted proudly as he winks at the girls. "And this bastard here is Cr- gyaaaaahhhh." He was cut off by a fireball attack from the white haired warlock standing beside him, blasting him off to the ocean before he could finish his sentence.

More than half of the crowd stared wide-eyed; shocked at the stunt pulled off by the man, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Some, however, started chuckling at the sight of Axentrio struggling to swim towards the ship.

"That was really uncalled for!" The sorcerer yelled while fumbling for his magician hat. His long red hair glistened in the water and the contrasting blue of the ocean made his iris an even brighter red.

"Just call me Zaikuro." The aloof warlock simply stated while ignoring the tantrums coming from his partner.

"And you? A sura I presume." Kyler eyed a hooded boy in the crowd.

The boy nodded briefly. Although a sura, he was still wearing the champion's hooded vest, mainly because he was not very fond of the idea of being half naked in public. What remained a difference were the flame-patterned designs on the vest instead of the usual plain red and white. The sura had not spoken once ever since he joined the group in Alberta. It was made clear when he pointed his right index finger to his throat and then made an X sign with his arms, suggesting that he's a mute.

"I see..." Resplen affirmed understandingly.

"Hmmm? What are we supposed to call you then?" Jack questioned.

Before the young man could get his hands on any writing materials, few of the members have started coming up with nicknames for him without his consent.

"Sura"

"That's lame"

"Noob"

"Who the hell said that?"

"Mr. Mute then"

"How rude"

"Whatever"

The poor sura was clearly getting worried. He definitely did not want to be called Mr. Mute or anything of the like.

"Hmmm...he has silver hair.. Alright, we shall call you Gin. It means silver in Japanese." Resplen finally suggested.

Gwen looked at him. "How do you know Japanese?"

"Don't underestimate the person who has travelled to many cities. I've picked up a few languages on my way."

"That's settled then, Gin it is." Kyler simply agreed. He was getting impatient with the dawdling of the conversation.

The sura, now known as Gin, could only smile slightly and sigh in relief that someone came up with a decent nickname. He had no other choice but to accept it...for now.

"Hey…we're missing two more people. Where's the guillotine cross?"

Someone then pointed upwards. A figure was seen standing on the ship's main-mast**.**

Shadowing his eyes with his hand, Reseph looked at the pointed direction. "What in the world is he doing up there?"

"Heeeeeey, get down here will ya?" Luke shouted.

The half masked assassin glanced at the caller for a few seconds, only to throw a dagger at the source, nearly hitting Luke.

Barely dodging the dagger by a hair's breadth, he stumbled onto the wooden surface. "What the #%&* is he trying to kill me?"

"Look, there's a note attached to the dagger."

Gwen unstuck the dagger to retrieve the folded piece of paper, inside contained a handwritten message with huge letters, written "SVEN CRUXEFORD".

"What the heck is with the capital letters, does he think that we're blind?" Luke, still unrecovered by the shock, remarked with a hint of annoyance.

Kyler looks around questioningly. "So where's the other guy?"

"The other..? You mean the ranger?" Alyth asked for confirmation. Looking at the front of the main cabin, she continued when she couldn't find who she was looking for, "I thought I saw him standing by the barrels at that corner. He had bandages all over him, with a scary-looking expression on his face."

"Really? What's an injured man doing in the party anyway…"

"Sorry ta break ya conversation young lads, but we'll be reaching soon." The captain chimed in.

The group members were dismissed and started walking back into their cabins, leaving the two souls who share a similar first syllable name on the deck.

Reseph walked towards the sides of the ship and leaned against it, both arms on top of the gunwale, he was enjoying the wind blowing through his tousled golden blond hair, his left ear pierced with a small white silver stud earring; glinting in the sunlight.

"Endless Tower huh? Why did it even exist in the first place." He asked nonchalantly to nobody in specific.

"Indeed… It appeared ten years ago, like magic out of thin air. Nobody knew where it came from." An unexpected reply surprised the bishop from behind.

Turning his head, he saw the tall male approaching to where he was. The serious answer sparked Reseph's interest a little. "So..why are you going to such a gloomy place?"

Resplen stared at the fluid movement of the water beneath the ship, his eyes was slowly filled with sadness. He closed and reopened them before answering the question. "My father was one of the mercenary who joined the first endless tower recruitment ten years ago. He was a stubborn old man, never listened to anybody. I was seventeen then and hated that side of him…but, I couldn't stand the thought of him disappearing so suddenly somewhere inside that tower. There was no use brooding over it, so I joined this party to clear my doubts and uncover the mystery myself."

There was a momentary pause before Reseph replied with another question. "Are you alright with spilling all the details to a person you barely met?"

"We're on the same boat now. No use hiding it."

Reseph merely smiled before his gaze fell upon a semi-translucent mass in the horizon. It looked like the toxic gas monster; Noxious, that had blown up by a hundred fold. As the vessel nears the mass, the bow of the ship was cutting through the fog like butter.

Parts of the island came into sight after few minutes have ticked by. The fog was so thick that sands on the beach were only visible when the ship was anchored a couple of kilometers away. The island was not as big as they thought it would be. Dense forest covered three-quarters of the island; from the front half to the rear. The trees were no longer green; most leaves were shriveled, with dark colored tints on it. The tower was yet to be seen but it was too hazy for that to be possible. Nevertheless, what lay ahead was certainly the isolated island that no ships would come across, no animals would live on and no ordinary people would go – the dreaded Misty Island.

"Typical, should've known." Jack mused at the sight of the island. It was exactly what you'd expect of a spooky, haunted area that you could see in Glast Heim or the Abbey.

Standing at a corner, a bandaged ranger had his eyes fixed on the island, staring intently through the mist. His warg nudged his side in an attempt to reduce the tension building up in him. It seemed to have worked as the ranger shifted his attention to his companion and stroked the fur gently on its head.

* * *

After packing up their belongings and supplies along with their mounts, the group members climbed down the rope ladder to transfer themselves to a smaller boat used to travel from a ship to shore.

"Here's an item fer ya to contact me, me sailors and I ain't staying fer long, press the button when ya, ahem, managed to get out. Me sailors and I will be here when it buzzes on me side," Jansen explained as he handed the small device carefully to Kyler.

"Thanks for the help, Jansen."

"_Captain_ Jansen," he reminded the ranger once again. "Good luck and stay alive!" That said, the captain and the sailors hoisted up the anchor, setting off towards the opposite direction.

Stale air filled the atmosphere, musty and stagnant, almost hard to breathe. Smell of the sea water, grass and rottenness mixed together made each individual's nose twitch unpleasantly. Further ahead, albeit misty, was none other than the endless tower. As the group walked deeper onto the dirt-filled pathway, the tower seemed to have enlarged considerably from their view.

It was enormous. Enormous and sky-high. The apex was covered in clouds and mist, concealed from the human eye. The tower was covered in dark colored bricks, still strong and sturdy after who knew how long. Traces of orangey sunshine from the setting sun highlighted the narrow fissures between solid blocks. Not a single window or any small opening could be seen anywhere on the tower save for a stone door as the entrance. The endless tower looked absolutely menacing and intimidating in its entirety.

The group stood near the entrance and spent few minutes…or longer, gawking at the phenomenon.

"So…how do we get in?" Luke couldn't help but to ask a dumb question.

"Based on my research, I'm pretty sure there's something that will let us in there…" Kyler scanned the area cautiously, searching for something.

Without warning, a deep yet hollow voice boomed.

"Welcome to the Endless Tower, young ones." An old greyish stone statue greeted the adventurers. "I am the tower's Stone Guardian. The one that guards the entrance of this tower and the only one capable of opening it for you." The statue paused to see if there was any response from the group; none came.

"You will encounter the most dangerous and dire of situations inside the tower. Once you enter, there will be no turning back. Are you ready to step foot into the endless tower to battle with fate, young ones?"

Gripping his bow, Kyler looked and nodded towards the others.

"We are ready." He declared.

With its final words, the giant stone door opened slowly, creaking its way until a stairway came into full view. Inside of the tower appeared dim even with torches of flames lining up on each side of the stairway. The flames were small and weak, as if on the verge of fizzling out and would do so with just a tiny blow of air. It got even darker when the entrance gave a loud, final thud, depriving the group of their last ray of sunlight. They could only see a dead end ahead of them until they turn the corner.

"This is it." Kyler walked up front with his warg trailing just behind him. "Keep your guard up and watch where you're going."

Some of the members gulped to get rid of the big lump forming in their throat before walking up the stairs. The stairway was slowly filled with both soft and earnest footsteps.

"I..I think I heard something," Leyra voiced out. The group went alert and slowed down their pace. Turning the corner, they could see an opening. The entrance was still partly hidden from their blind spot, but there was no doubt that they were getting closer due to brighter shades of light coming from the doorway.

Seeing how everyone was so tensed up, Axentrio decided to heat things up even more. "Heh..according to the rumors, they say there lies man-eating creatures and hideous zombies who would kill you so that you'll be a part of their eternal army…I wonder if it's the monster's grunting or the sound of its saliva dripping that we're hearing."

"Sh-shut it will ya? The only thing they'll sound like is-"

*Boing boing*

Most of them froze on the spot, pondering about the unknown.

The sound got clearer than ever when they reached the final few steps, the stone door that divided the room and the stairway was already opened, revealing the source of the noise.

Porings.

Lots of porings, accompanied by its multi colored family.

"Dangerous mobs my ass!" Luke laughed at the sheer sight of jelly beings.

"You looked like you were going to see ghosts a while ago though, hahaha," Reseph laughed in amusement.

"_Well_ you guys looked the same too!" He snapped back, furious.

"Guys, quit wasting time," said Kyler as he took out his elven bow, and proceeds to shoot a poring.

"Wait, how could you just- …they're only porings!"

"Why not? We do need some warm ups." Axen, along with Sven and Luke went ahead to whack the little creatures.

"That's somewhat degrading. Can't we just proceed further?"

"Look around you, does it seem like there's anywhere else we could go?"

One would expect the room to be much bigger judging by the perimeter of the tower, but this one seems smaller than it should be. However, it was still big, if this wasn't a room filled with colored mobs, it would look like the hall of a mansion. Crack-like squiggly lines are connected to form various shapes on the concrete floor and walls enveloped all four sides of the room. The most eye-catching structure in the room was a giant square-shaped cauldron with bright, burning flames ignited on top of it, situated on the right side of the room. Clear-cut diamonds of various sizes were hovering and encircling the flame resulting in the flickering of refracted light. Eerie statues guard the sides of the cauldron. Smaller flames helped light up the place, mainly the entrance, near the exit and on the pillars that stood at different positions in the room. The only route to the next room was a one-way C-shaped path. The geography of the floor after each corner slopes slightly; dividing the room into lower grounds and upper grounds where one is able to see the burning flames at eye level when they reach the exit.

"Does that mean we're supposed to kill all of them?"

"Exactly"

Enora heaved a heavy sigh. Others who were idle before have also started to walk in different directions. As unwillingly as she is to kill off cute blobs, she buffed and followed the people who went forward.

"Jackerel, I saw the exit." Leyra announced excitedly. Others who had cleared the lower grounds made their way up. Sure enough, between two small cauldrons was the dark colored stone door guarding the exit. With a final release of an arrow through a Marin, the door automatically slid open to the left side to reveal yet another stairway.

XxxxxX

"Ha..that was the last argiope. Those big fat centipedes are slow but they're deadly."

"It sure seems like each floor contains a monster of its type, all I saw in this room were bugs."

The group was already on the fourth floor, with all the mobs finished off. They've been going through the same routine on each floor.

The exit on this floor was a little different than the previous ones in which they had the same color as the walls, but this door was covered in moss green. The smudges of dirt and filth seemed to have darkened the otherwise emerald-colored exterior. They waited for the door to do its usual thing but it was still tightly shut.

"Hey, that was the last mob right? Why isn't the door opening?"

Resplen slammed his palms on the right, flat edge of the big stone slab in an attempt to push it manually. He paused after a few unsuccessful attempts.

"This door…It's..."

* * *

**A/N:**

Aaaand that's it for Chapter 3. Sorry if it seems draggy, but it needs to be done because of the "large" amount of characters. =S

For those of you who wants to have a better grasp on the image of our characters, visit my profile and click on the link for a better look. =)

Reviews are very welcome!~


	4. Locked Doors, Devious Clues and Crawlers

**A/N:**

To Basikilos: Thank you for the review! It truly is the fuel to our motivation. =)

And for those who have viewed the Character Banner; thank you very much! We'll try our best to bring forth the characters' personalities as best as we can.

As for Gwen, do us all a favor and bring insect repellents next time. Less screaming would be appreciated. xD

* * *

Locked Doors, Devious Clues, …and Creepy Crawlies?!

"It's not budging at all."

"What? Let me try. Maybe you just haven't taken in enough carbs for lunch."

Resplen crooked his brow at the comment. He got told off with a comment related to food? That may work for other people, but not Resplen. He genuinely enjoys the culinary arts which was the purpose of his travel from cities to towns to villages and back. Regardless, he moved aside from his spot to make space for the genetic. He figures he should give Luke a chance, if he is successful; good for all of them, if not…well, a journey cut short.

Luke readied himself, one foot in front of the other, and with a big oomph, he pushed the door using all of the arm strength that he was capable of exerting. Alas, not only did the door not budge an inch, the accumulated dust that were hiding away on the top edge of the slab fell on his sleeves, and some even found its way to settle on his slicked back blond hair.

Gwen snickered at the failed attempt. "A trained holy knight couldn't do it Luke, how could a chemist who doesn't do any physical training like _you_ do it?"

"At least I tried! Let's all wait infinitely for the door to magically open then." Luke remarked sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Why don't we try pushing it together? The mechanism could be broken after so long," suggested the minstrel. Jack slings his guitar onto his back before ushering the other boys. "C'mon guys, we can do this."

Few of them muttered a "yeah" or "sure". The spot where Resplen and Luke stood before was now replaced by Jack whereas the other four guys had their palms up on the front of the door to push it horizontally. After a few minutes of hard work, the stone slab was still rooted in its place, even with five strengths combined. Their third attempt was not charmed this time.

The thought of being stuck there forever was creeping into their minds while feelings of anxiety were dominating the others. Some of them took their own liberty to start searching the nearby walls for any hidden key or loose bricks or something on those eerie statues that might be a trigger.

Alyth was also searching keenly with her pair of magenta eyes; she scanned the walls, the two small cauldrons, the pillars and back to the big emerald door.

She paused, and then squinted her eyes.

_Something feels out of place about that door_, she thought. The rune knight took a closer look and gazed harder when she finally found the source of what was bugging her. A particular area, presumably where a door knob should be, had a slightly different shade of green. The area seemed to show more of the original green, like the filth has not invaded that space as much as the others because someone might have dusted it off before. The difference was very minor had she not stood in front of it for a nearer view. By convincing herself that it is relevantly safe to do what she has to do, Alyth pushed the area lightly and carefully with the tip of her fingers. A perfect circle with the size a little bigger than her palm immediately fell right through the hole that it made.

"There's a hole in here," she breathed.

"Let me see, let me see." Gwen was standing beside Alyth this whole time. She knew her childhood friend was on to something when she saw the intense focus in those eyes. They were soon crowded by other members upon the discovery. The excited rune knight immediately bent down to see what could be inside the hole.

"KYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA."

"AHHHHHHHHHHWAAaaaahhhhh….ahhh?"

The others followed suit when Gwen started screaming, despite not knowing what just happened; some were simply influenced by her Banshee-like shriek.

The orange head stood up instantly and sprinted away from the tiny hole, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, almost as if to fend off something that might invade her.

"Wha-What's in there?"

The rune knight made a shivering gesture before covering her eyes to avoid looking at whatever that she just saw and pointed to the cause of her terror with a trembling finger.

"B-b-b-bu-"

"Just say it!"

Kyler had enough of the hysterical scene. The thought of doing everything from now on crept to his mind, _at this rate._ The ranger squatted down to see the inside of the aperture. The moment he laid eye on it, he saw blurs of brownish objects crawling up and down the hollowed door in an unbelievable speed. There must have been hundreds of them.

"There seems to be a whole colony of Thief Bugs in there."

Reseph, curious ever since the hole was discovered, bent down beside the ranger to get his fair share of the spectacle. "Seriously…are we supposed to be pest exterminators now?"

"Good riddance, just break the damn door down," Luke suggested hastily.

Blast of fire bolts was hurled towards the door, but it did nothing to shatter the solid exterior. Gin threw a punch on it with his armed fist, Jack did Reverberation to generate high pitch sound waves against it, Reseph tried poking his Damascus into the hole but the tip of the dagger did not even get pass the opening.

The door seemed to have an invisible barrier around it; it was immune to all magic and weapons were ineffective. Not even a single bit of a tiny crack appeared despite the effort. Nothing worked. They had only one option left for them – by using one's hand. Resplen offered to take up the job, however, the result ended up the same as with the dagger, even his armored hand did not get pass it. That last flicker of hope was gone as well.

"This stinks. We're stuck only after four floors." Luke grumbled as he threw both his arms up in surrender.

"Yea, thanks for the info, it's very productive."

"What?! It's not like any of you are doing much anyway!"

"Can we get back on the issue of getting the door open?!"

In the midst of the commotion, a click was heard, followed by the green door sliding to its usual position, much to the party's surprise. They turned to see the guillotine cross near the hole, with his hand inside it.

Sven had been keeping quiet, observing the whole scenario. The assassin seemed to be staring off into another planet. It was then when he took off the cloth strips that served as bandages around his palm, and did the unimaginable.

Everyone stared at Sven wide-eyed. "What…did you do, Sven?"

"Put bare hand inside…push the lever."

"Huuuuh?"

"Whatever, the point is it's opened, let's go." The ranger with grey spiky hair and a stoic face was already up on the first step, leading the way, as usual.

Leyra was slowly walking up the stairs, thinking about the purpose of the locked door. She couldn't help but ask, "Was that some sort of test? It was very unusual."

"Hmm maybe it was a test of bravery," the blue-eyed bishop who was walking behind the married couple answered the question. "I mean, first of all, you wouldn't just stick your bare hand into a hole filled with hundreds of bugs, would you? There may be consequences and nobody wants to lose their hand. Only someone with a strong resolve could do it." Reseph continued his explanation.

Jack nodded at his valid reasoning. "Hm…makes sense. But it was fortunate that nothing happened to Sven."

"I second that. There's no way I'd be able to rejuvenate his arm by healing."

Gin was listening to the whole conversation as he was the last person to enter the door. He agreed with Jack in his heart that nothing bad has happened. The hooded sura was about to make a turn when he caught a glimpse of something shining like a jewel in the corner of his eye. It only lasted a mere second but he was pretty sure there was something near the now closed door below. He was called to hurry up by the front members before he could take a good look at the source. Gin could only hope it wasn't something important. But what he didn't know was that he couldn't be any more wrong.

Unbeknownst to any of them, the texture of the wall on the left became soft on the surface, like quick sand. Straight lines and curved arcs appeared on the gooey surface that simultaneously formed words. By the time it was hardened again, the visible string of words had formed into a sentence that read;

_*The one who shall not forsake the color of wealth, however small its shell may be.*_

* * *

The party has just stepped into the fifth floor. All of them immediately realized that this room was considerably different compared to previous ones.

"If it wasn't creepy enough with the dim flames, grotesque statues and dark colored tints on everything, this room sure tops it all. I mean…the flames are green! And the room is huuuuge." The green room appears to be more spacious than the lower floors. Other than the size and color, everything else remained the same.

While Luke was taking in to his surroundings, Enora grimaced at the sight in front of her. "Who designed this place anyway, I always find it scary… and dirty," she said while shifting her feet uncomfortably.

The bandaged ranger, on the other hand, has been staring intently at the flames since he walked in.

Axentrio had noticed the ranger staring at the flames on each floor. It wasn't exactly normal when an individual does nothing but stare into them twenty four/seven. The flames of the cauldron reflected on the lifeless eye of the ranger, gleaming into a brighter crimson, while the other was concealed within the bandages. But his odd behavior was exactly what got the sorcerer interested.

"Hey, you've been quiet since floor one, what's with you? Is there something in this room?"

"The flames... the voices..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Ignoring Axentrio, the ranger walked off to the direction of the flames, his wolf companion beside him.

"Hey! Don't just spout random things and walk away!"

On the other side of the line, Kyler's warg started to growl; soft, faint gnarls at first, which grew to vigorous barks from time to time.

'_Ethelwulf is acting up…something's wrong...'_

"Hey bishops, buff us up. Knights and Sorcerer; enchant and increase our weapon's attack power with Enchant Blade and Striking. Minstrel and Wanderer, support us from the back."

This out of the blue order from Kyler alerted the group greatly.

"What's wrong?"

"From what I've known, there are MVPs in some of the floors in this tower." Kyler explained as he took out his bow. "But I'm not sure which. The green flames here…it's suspicious."

Before anyone noticed, Gwen had already stridden ahead. Even Alyth was too caught up in their strange situation to keep up with her.

"Yuuhoooo," she waved at the bunch. "There's nothing in here! Just a few thief bug eggs lying around."

"Gwen!"

"What?"

"Don't. Move."

"W-why…?"

Gwen got confused seeing her teammates suddenly getting worked up and were all going into a battle stance. She turned her head around without thinking only to be greeted with a pair of long, flexible antenna creeping up her shoulders.

Her light peach-colored eyes got so wide that if it wasn't for the blood vessels connected to it, it might have just popped out. She had to take a moment to let the situation sink in before she could open her mouth.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA." Gwen sceamed. _Again. _

"Oh no! It's a Golden Thief Bug!" Alyth stated. She quickly rushed towards her friend who was running around on her Ferus.

"Helpppp! Get it off! Get it offff!"

The others were trying to get a clean hit on the shining insect while Gwen kept tugging on her Ferus, making it harder for them to aim. Alyth was trying to calm her down but to no avail.

"Stop mov- Damn it, Gwen. You're seriously making this a challenge for us."

As soon as Resplen finished his sentence, an arrow darted across the other member's head and accurately hits the golden thief bug on its thorax. It flew off of Gwen's back, along with the arrow, and landed a few meters away from the frantic knightess.

The insect quickly got back up to its scrawny legs, healed and casted the holy spell on itself; Assumptio which doubles its own defense and magical defense. Everyone tried their best to surround the bug as soon as possible while it's weakened but they were too late, the boss class monster casted a summon spell. The situation was reversed in an instant, instead of the party surrounding the bug, they were being pushed back by swarms of female and male thief bugs in an act to protect its master. While the group was distracted with the weaker mobs, the golden one ran off in a swift motion from the rising chaos. However, both rangers, the sorcerer and the assassin spotted it at once and went for the chase. They broke into two groups; one fighting off the minions and the other chasing down the boss.

Scrambling its way to higher grounds, the thief bug, now coated in another golden layer, successfully knocked its pursuers off their feet with Magnum Break, except for Sven who dodges it with ease.

"Damn it, it's fast."

Kyler quickly got back on his feet and pulled out a crystal arrow from his quiver. "Sorcerer, Deluge the ground to restrict its movements. The fire attribute bug wouldn't dare go pass water." He ordered.

"Well that sure is convenient but I have a name and it's-"

"Do it."

"Urrrghh what's with me and these order giving wannabes, they're all the same!" grumbled the red head.

"Cross, chase it from behind and make sure it heads straight up."

Sven instantly complied seeing how the situation would get worse for the other group. More minions would keep spawning as long as their master is alive.

**[Meanwhile, on the lower grounds...]**

The minions were closing in on the larger group, trapping them against the wall. Before they could get any closer, however, a gust of wind formed around the area and kicks of spinning blow were dealt to the enemies of the caster. A wide range in front of them was cleared of bugs within seconds; the closer ones were killed in the process whereas the others got knockback a few cells. The damage produced came from the Sky Net Blow dealt by Gin who was standing between Alyth and Gwen.

"Gwen, this is our chance. Burn them while they're slowed down."

Gwen nodded confidently towards Alyth and pats her Ferus. "Get ready, Galeru."

Both Ferus had their jaws opened wide, revealing sharp fangs, and charging their skills with the permission given from their riders. Orange-yellow sparks were forming around their opened mouths.

"DRAGON BREATH!"

Blazing fire gushed out from the dragon-lizard hybrids' throat like a flame thrower. The mobs were immediately burned to crisp from the incredibly hot fire, but that did not stop more from coming.

"They're coming faster than we can charge our skills!"

"Sacrament!"

A high priestess reading a holy scripture appeared above the rune knights and the sura, a holy ritual blessed upon them to reduce their charging of skills by half the time. A song of Bragi played by a minstrel could be heard from behind them which further decreased their casting time. The support team gave the front liners the thumbs up.

Whenever the small but fast little brown and metallic green insects went near the support team, Resplen would brandish his Imperial Shield to the ground, dealing Earth elemental damage to enemies in the area to protect the arch bishops, minstrel and wanderer. His gryphon helped clear them as well. A sweep of its magnificent wings would send the tiny insects flying off to the distance.

While fending off the seemingly unending pests, Resplen spotted Zaikuro and Luke standing idly at a corner, free of minions.

"HEY! The two of you over there! Help us here or go up there and kill the boss off will you?"

Zaikuro turned to look at him. "Golden thief bug is a weak monster, I don't see the point of raising my hands when you lot are able to kill it even with your eyes closed."

"Dude, I'm a genetic, most of my offensive skills require expensive ingredients. I ain't wasting my zeny on some weak mob, man." Luke replied nonchalantly, hands in his pants pocket.

'_Are you kidding me? These two-'_

"Ahhhhh!"

The royal guard's thoughts were halted as he turned around to see the cause of Leyra's shriek. The walls behind them were beginning to be infested by thief bugs as well…

**[At the same time…]**

Axentrio was casting the pool of water simultaneously on the ground to slow the fire attribute bug down, even if it's just a little, while Sven was chasing closely behind its rear. Kyler rode on his giant wolf in order to surpass the thief bug's speed and lay in wait at the front, hiding behind a pillar far from his target, but still in range. His bow and arrow at the ready for the long-range combat, prepared to shoot at any time now…

The golden thief bug began to crawl up the wall to avoid the pools of water below, it continued forward but the run did not last long; two crystal arrows obstructed its path. It began to retract backwards but was stopped yet again by more crystal arrows, a shower of those pointed weapons were then struck to both of its sides, caged from all directions. Having left with only one choice, it suddenly lunged away from the wall as it was the only escape route. Unaware of its surroundings while in mid-air, the boss fell right into a trap. A series of arrows imbued with the power of water came from the right side; where Kyler was shooting and on the left side; where the other ranger stood, they were released at the same time, ultimately killing the golden thief bug.

Its golden shine slowly dissipated, leaving the valuable goods it guarded appearing on the floor. Its minions disappeared as well upon its death, and the members on the lower ground were saved from being swarmed over.

Knowing that the boss was killed, everyone relaxed and took the time to recompose themselves. Enora went ahead to check if the other group was alright. The genetic hurriedly made his way up as well with an extra boost from his cart boost skill. Eyeing the gold on the floor, he quickly took the chance to grab it.

"Good work people! This is great!"

"Hold it Luke, since when did you do ANYTHING to deserve that!" Enora caught sight of his shrewd act and snapped at him.

"First comes, first serve Miss Priestess!"

"That's unfair, like hell I'm letting you get a hold of that gold!"

"Let go man, I touched it first!"

The short exchange quickly turned into an argument as they go on and on…

Kyler walks up to the bandaged ranger. "Not a bad move there." He said as he taps lightly on his fellow practitioner on the shoulder before walking away.

It was Gwen and Alyth's turn to approach the ranger.

"Uhm, we wanted to thank you for helping Gwen back then."

The ranger looked at them and simply nodded without uttering a word.

"Yeah, that was really scary, I- I could've died."

"Pull yourself together Gwen, you're an honorable knight."

"But it's a bug! I despise those things! A-anyway, thank you very much for shooting it off of me, um…what was your name again?"

"Come to think of it, you have not introduced yourself. It would be appropriate if you let us know your name, at least we know what to call you."

The ranger paused before answering. "…Blaise."

In front of them, the green door was long opened after the Golden Thief Bug's defeat.

Kyler couldn't help but be amused yet annoyed at the same time towards the genetic and the arch bishop, who were quarreling for a bar of gold. "You two, cut it out. We're not here for the cheap loots, our aim are far greater ones remember?"

"S-sorry, I got carried away…" Enora released the gold and looked down embarrassingly, while Luke grinned in victory as he stash his first treasure in his cart.

* * *

"Thi-this..another green door."

"Ugh..another boss class monster?"

It wasn't long before the group finally made their way up to the ninth floor. All the normal mobs in between did not pose any problems for the team, they were eliminated as swiftly as ever. The door this time was also green; the same one on the fourth floor. However, instead of a hole, obvious wordings were engraved on this stone door.

_Feed me and you shall move forward,  
__Refuse me then you shall stay,  
__Wind elemental magic is my forte,  
__I shall take it in one big tray._

"A test on magical ability this time eh.." was what Reseph concluded based on the clues given.

"Alright! I'll do it." Axentrio volunteered right away. _It's time to show the ladies what I'm capable of. _He thought happily.

Raising his gentleman's cane with his right hand, he called forth the power of lightning.

"Lightning bolt!"

Electric currents flowed through his hand to the cane and zapped the stone slab. It seems to have absorbed all the currents from the bolt. After the smoke cleared, the door was still intact.

"…Okay door, you wanna have it, I'll let ya have it."

Larger bluish green sparks were forming around both of his palms this time, to the point where the other members could feel the energy building up in the atmosphere around the caster.

"Varetyr Spear!"

Gigantic cross-shaped spears of thunder shot down from above, striking the door with full force.

Still nothing.

"Seriously?"

Sighs filled the air, echoing through the vast room. These tests never seem to work out in one go.

"Move."

Axentrio looked at his partner; the warlock who has done nothing up till now.

"Are you gonna do it, Zai?"

"Don't blame me if you get caught up in it." Zaikuro said as he raised an arm, powerful surge of electric current that were gathered on his palm immediately shot through like a bullet. The lightning were not absorbed fast enough, more so, chains of lightning kept surging in and out of the moss green door limitlessly until it made its way to the left, giving clear access to the entrance.

"Who _is_ he? He did it without amplifying or boosting his magic spell." The royal guard whispered to the sorcerer.

"I don't wanna get blasted off again so you're gonna have to find it out yourself."

As they walk up the stairway, Alyth was getting uneasy. What if the next MVP is really strong? She had to voice it out. Especially to Kyler who seems to have no care or worry of what might come next.

"Kyler..I don't think it's a good idea to barge in without a plan, and not knowing what sort of boss class we're about to face next is too risky."

"What else can we do? We can't turn back so all we have to do is go up. We'll figure something out when we get there."

Alyth didn't want to admit it but he was right. The doors behind them are all closed. No windows, no alternative route. There was no way out of the tower other than moving forward. It was vexing for her that she had to agree with the ranger...

"Well, I agree with Alyth," someone affirmed.

…or not.

Magenta eyes shot up to meet brilliant blue ones. "Those tests must _mean_ something."

What Reseph said jogged Gin's memory. He remembered something very important. The sura proceeded to tug on Reseph's sleeve.

"Not now, Gin. I'm trying to connect the dots here."

Gin persisted with the tugging of the other's uniform.

"Would you calm down a little and let me thin- woahhh!"

_I have to show you now!_ Gin thought. He absolutely did not want to miss this chance again. He yanked the bishop all the way down with him to the closed door. The other members followed closely behind.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Gin pointed excitedly to the right side of the wall, it would be on one's left if the individual walks up; the exact same spot where he saw the shiny glimmer on the fourth floor's stairway. He thought that something might have appeared, and there it was! A completed sentence formed on the wall.

"Gin, you saw this back on the fourth floor stairway too didn't you? That's what kept you."

The sura nodded a little too enthusiastically.

"But how did we miss such a thing?"

"We walked right past before the sentence was even formed. But now that we know, it would greatly help us."

Reseph traced his fingers carefully on the wordings. It certainly spelled out as…

_*The sovereign who commands millions and endowed with the power of ventus.*_

It was a hint to the next MVP.

* * *

**A/N:**

I must say, writing battle scenes is a tedious process. But we enjoy thinking up of strategies and ideas that comes with it.

Feel free to spill your thoughts on this and stay tuned for our next chapter!


	5. After a Voltaic Workout

**A/N:**

Thank you for your patience! We hope you'll enjoy this lengthy chapter as well. =)

But before that, rubber boots anyone?

* * *

After a Voltaic Workout

_*The sovereign who commands millions and endowed with the power of ventus.*_

The hint that lies in front of them was waiting to be solved.

_A sovereign… A king? A queen? Or someone with authority perhaps? _The friendly expression that Reseph often show on his face was replaced with a furrowed brow as he pondered for an answer. _And ventus means wind… Hmm..? Wind? The test before as well had something to do with wind magic. _That last thought had him connecting the dots; from the locked door tests to the clues; which didn't take long for the bishop to figure it all out.

"I think I know what it is."

"Well?"

Turning around from the wall to face the group, Reseph answered in all his seriousness. "It's an insect type mob symbolized by its crown, a queen bee capable of casting powerful wind-based Jupitel Thunder."

After listening to Reseph's statement, the groups' reaction showed that they too, now know what the next MVP was.

Kyler made his way up again, a signal to the others that they're moving forward to battle the next boss class. If they could kill a Golden Thief Bug, they could certainly deal with this one. Besides, an advantage was on their side; they'll be well prepared for it this time.

The first few mobs that the group spotted as they step foot into the yet again green room were Hornets. Small, eusocial wasps coated in dusty yellow were flying around the pillars, their wings' speedy contact with the air produced a faint buzzing noise. These hornets were gentle monsters in nature so they left the adventurers alone upon their arrival.

"I guess Reseph's presumption was right."

"Ewww, _more_ insects." Gwen said in disgust while shooing the hornets that were flying near her.

"Where's the big gun, huh? I don't see it."

Luke shrugged. "Whatever, these little ones should be a piece of cake."

The genetic approached an idle wasp and stabbed its tiny body with his main gauche. As soon as the dagger was out of the dying hornet's abdomen, the other hornets halted from whichever way they were heading and flew towards Luke. Although harmless at first, their loyalty towards comrades is no laughing matter. Discerning hostility, the little hornets charged in without hesitation.

However, something more terrifying than the sudden post-attack from the raging hornets was clearly approaching. It was the increasingly loud buzzing sound coming from the north that caught the group's attention.

"….Maaaybe that wasn't such a good idea..."

"You think?"

Seconds passed and the buzzing became more and more evident, the level of the volume it produced in this closed room and the sound waves vibrated off the walls were making it seem like an earthquake was on its way. The source of this loudness was unsurprisingly, a swarm of hornets flying towards the party. But these hornets weren't the usual ones; they were Giant Hornets. Coated in faded bluish purple, size a little bigger than a normal Hornet; they were going at the group full throttle in a circle formation. In the middle of the encircling angry bodyguards, the tip of what looks like a crown can be seen popping out every so often.

"Here it comes! The boss class Mistress!"

Everyone was running out of its way but a fast, intense lightning ball was unleashed towards them before they could each take their stance. Resplen instantly ran in front of the to-be-victims and quickly took out his shield to guard against the spell. However, few of the lightning sparks found its way around the royal guard before the impact of Jupitel Thunder forced him backwards. Fortunately, his trusty ride and partner cushioned his fall. The cast off sparks from when the spell hits the shield, regardless of the amount of power it originally possessed, had successfully strike the people who stood near Resplen.

"Oww…that really stings." Resplen said as he stood up, weak electric discharge still surging on the surface of his golden armor.

"Caluceo Heal!"

The stinging sensation was gone almost immediately, in fact, the royal guard was brimming with vitality again by the time the light green radiance faded. Reseph was healing those who got hit by the lightning spell while Enora was casting basic buffs on the group. Jack and Leyra on the other hand supported the others by strumming their melody.

Blaise was trying to concentrate on only one moving living insect. It was practically impossible to spot the smaller Mistress amongst the giant hornets who faithfully guard their commander to wherever it flew, but there were instances where small openings are exposed whenever the hornets shifted positions to attack.

The bandaged ranger eventually caught the brief moment and double strafed two arrows imbued in earth magic directly at the queen bee. Unfortunately, one of the giant hornet's swift flight was able to stop the arrows from reaching its master, sacrificing itself instead. This distinct action did not go unaware for the queen bee as a greenish blue semi-liquid barrier started to cloud around the caster. Any type of long range physical attack was now useless against Pneuma.

"Oh man, rangers are completely useless now." Luke stated the obvious while observing the situation with his arms crossed. Kyler twitched at his unnecessary comment but it did held some truth.

"Melee combatants, move in! Strike the boss when you're close enough."

The two rune knights, assassin and sura rushed for the target at the same time, only to be greeted by spams of lightning balls in all directions. It only took the group members a few seconds to be completely scattered around the place. Trying to avoid the stray luminous spheres was one thing, but having previously enraged hornets attacking them wasn't helping their situation either.

The chaotic status that they were in was really getting up to Kyler's nerves.

"EVERYONE STOP RUNNING AROUND DAMN IT!"

"You tell that to the Jupitel Thunder bitch!" A reply out of nowhere echoed throughout the room.

Alyth guarded Gwen and herself in time by holding up her custom forged two-handed Claymore diagonally in front of her chest as a conductor, and then thrust the heavy blade on the concrete floor as a means of directing the lightning to the ground. But the aggressive spells were coming one after the other, even the front liners couldn't as much reach the boundary of their target.

Gin barely dodged the electric currents himself; the hem of his vest was slightly charred from the high voltage. The sura got ready by casting Rising Dragon which temporarily releases his mind and spirit, allowing him to gather more spirit spheres and increases his attack speed. While in his Fury state, Gin body relocated when he saw the chance, it instantly transported him right next to Mistress. He had an arm already up in the air, prepared to strike with his next move when he realized something was wrong – his spiritual power wasn't flowing smoothly through his body, blocked by a status ailment which renders the caster the inability to use any active skills. Mistress had cleverly inflicted wide silence at that moment, silencing almost everyone in its range.

"GIN!"

And if that wasn't enough, the queen bee's stinger was right in front of Gin's face.

_'Oh no. I'm going to get electrocuted head on!'_

Gin immediately crossed his arms to guard his head in hopes of lessening the pain...but the blow never came. Instead of feeling sharp jabs or any electrical surge, he felt himself being yanked up by his hood and landed on the back of a feathery creature. Resplen, who was out of range when the wide silence occurred, had strike the crowned insect on its vital point with his Imperial Spear using his right arm, while his free hand grabbed the hooded sura at the same time. The Pinpoint Attack dealt by the royal guard was the first clean hit to the queen bee, resulting in its heavy damage.

The wounded Mistress promptly flew further away from its assailants to buy time in order to heal itself and to re-summon its minions. Unfortunately, Mistress was found by Axentrio while flying on its way up. The sorcerer waste no time to cast a spell.

"Heaven Driv- oops I forgot, I'm silenced too." He reminded himself.

"Stay there Axentrio." Reseph called out as he made his way up to the red head.

"What? Why?"

"What do you mean why? I'm going to use Cure on you to get rid of that spiritual blockage."

"Wait, stop! NO! Don't do it."

"Are you even aware of what you're saying? At a time like _this_?"

"Of course I am, I want to be cured, but not by you." Axentrio took a few steps backwards and seemingly turned to the opposite direction as he runs away. "I want Enora to do iiiiitt!"

The ignorant mage's words did not fail to tick off the priest. "COME HERE YOU!"

They both ended up running around aimlessly. The golden blond haired bishop was trying to get close to the sorcerer, while the sorcerer made sure to keep his distance.

"Enoraaaaa!"

"Huh?" The female arch bishop blinked at the scampering duo. Odin knows what they were doing at the moment. Gwen was trying to catch up to the bee but what she saw made her huff in anger.

"Hey! Mistress got away because of you two idiots fooling around!"

It was then that Reseph stopped in his tracks, a hint of disappointment on his face.

"..I was called an idiot…"

"You'll get used to it." The sorcerer too had stopped running.

"And whose fault is it?" The bishop snapped back half-jokingly.

All the while, the panic boss monster was busy avoiding the arrows coming its way during its attempt to flee, courtesy of the rangers. An insect's flight gives the queen bee exemption from the melee fighters but it couldn't escape the vulnerability against the series of arrows due to the lack of Pneuma. One after another, the giant hornets were slowly decreasing, much to its dismay.

In all its confusion and weakened state, the queen bee did not react fast enough when one of the arrows finally connected. The shot which came from Kyler has partially torn the queen bee's forewings, subsequently losing its control to maneuver, but that wasn't enough to bring Mistress down. Still flying without balance, it was heading straight to a certain warlock.

Zaikuro was leaning against the dark colored walls once again as he did on every floor. No one seemed to care about his behavior by now, mainly because he had an unapproachable aura surrounding him most of the time. Nonetheless, his apple green eyes spotted the boss flying unsteadily towards him. The warlock had decided to not raise his hands but…since the boss itself came to him…

With a flick of his index finger to the ground and a muttered "Earth Spike", sharp stone pillars emerged from the concrete floor and pierced through the queen bee on both its abdomen and thorax. It was considerably weakened from the stabs of the stone pillars but there was still enough strength left in her to escape.

On the other side of the room, Kyler yells across the hall. "Somebody deal the last blow, NOW!"

A figure in maroon and dark brown cloths rapidly closed the distance between him and the subdued queen bee. The Mistress, a coronet on its head to represent its power and the piece of honeycomb it was holding as its regalia, fell into its demise by having its body sliced in half from the razor-sharp edge of Krishna.

Valuables dropped to the floor as Sven skillfully kept his katar back to its twin cover that was strapped on each side of his hip. A loud sliding noise boomed across the room, signifying the passage to the next floor was now opened.

"Phew..that was a close call, the situation wasn't pretty back there, and those stings really hurt!"

"It could've been easier if you guys would stop fooling around for once." Kyler lowers down his bow after taking a deep breath.

"Well, you have no idea how melee fighters endure the pain, magic spells aren't something that's easy to dodge," Resplen replied.

"Beats me, but that's what melees are for, are they not?"

"Now look here, you-"

"We should take a break, if it's okay." Alyth cuts in when she sensed an argument coming.

Kyler gave a reluctant nod before the group settled down on the cold concrete floor.

After a short break to satisfy their hunger, the group ascended the floors where they encounter various types of mobs.

Trivial thoughts were slowly popping up in some of their minds; the tower stays true to its name, whoever named it endless, they really meant it.

This could actually take a while, a _very_ long while.

* * *

Luke was busy taking whatever that was deemed useful; alcohol, mystic frozen, rough oridecon, anything that holds a value. Even on their last mvp floor, where lies the great Phreeoni and Maya; their precious loots became his in no time. The genetic took hold of all of the valuables at almost every chance he gets. No doubt that his actions irritated the others greatly, especially to the royal guard as he calls Luke out for it.

"For goodness sake, you've been grabbing everything ever since we stepped foot in this tower. Give it a break and do something useful from time to time."

"Oh yeah, like what? I barely scrape through my pocket for zeny just to make up for the cost of my materials. It isn't easy like using spells or riding on a chicken."

"There are plenty of things you can do, and Ayries isn't a chicken, she's a Gryphon. Get your facts right, genetic."

"Who cares, but do tell what I'm supposed to do, I might be willing to help."

"How about potion pitching for a change. It'll reduce the bishop's work." Resplen eyed him a look.

"Yeah, I can do that." The blond genetic then proceeded to take out his red potion. "And to show my generosity, I'll start with you!" As soon as he finished his sentence, the potion had already left his hand. He pitched the potion right at Resplen, _literally. _As the tube tumbles across the royal guard's head, cherry red liquid poured out of its container effortlessly.

"Hahahahhaha, how do you like that? Great pitch, huh?"

"Yeah that was a good one." The royal guard stayed still and calm, watery substance trickling down the edge of his thick auburn hair, but if looked closely, a vein on his temple might have just popped. Resplen forced a smile at the genetic as he slowly reached down into the saddlebag on his gryphon. "But not as good as THIS!" He threw a handful of star crumbs towards the genetic with full force. Unfortunately for him, Luke managed to dodge the flying chunks of solid, only for it to hit directly on Sven's back.

"Oops- I mean, sorry I didn't mean to hit you." Resplen apologizes with both palms when he met with the guillotine cross's blank stare.

"Tough luck dude." Luke laughed even harder, but his laughter slowly faded when the assassin seemingly crouched down to reach for something.

"Um… what exactly are you doing?"

Both of their mouths hung open when Sven carried a whole stack of monster's drops from the floor, filled to the brim of his arms.

"W-wait…are you serious…GAAAAAH!" Without warning, they were bombarded by a series of items hitting their arms, abdomen, and even on their heads. Sven continued as he dual throws the items – _Guillotine Cross Exclusive._

**[Meanwhile…]**

"Hmm…the clue this time is rather vague…what are your interpretations?"

"Personally, I believe it might have something to do with the element of water or a liquid of some sort." The maroon-haired minstrel suggested.

Kyler, Jack, Leyra, and Alyth were focusing on the clue stamped on the front of the slab. Each of them was settling into their own thoughts, searching for the right answer.

The serious bunch was interrupted when a sequence of loud bangs came from behind. What appears before them was a reign of chaos with items flying from one direction to another. Even Gwen and Reseph were dragged into the commotion, for whatever reason.

Gin can be seen in the middle of the two battle forces, stretching out his arms to calm the situation down. They were too into it to back down. The sura was given no mercy, his clothes painted in various colors by sticky royal jellies, honey, translucent substances and slimy sticky mucus.

"What's with the ruckus?"

"Forget them. Solve the clue quickly so we can get out of here." Kyler said without averting his eyes, ignoring the ongoing disturbance.

Jack heaved a sigh and shifted his attention back to the clue as well. On the contrary, his wife Leyra giggled quietly at the playful battle. All in all it was nothing to be bothered about, other than the yells coming from different people and the noise of bottles crashing against the walls…

Standing at the sides, Zaikuro rested himself on the wall as usual, but ended up watching the fight, slightly amused. Even Blaise stopped his usual staring at the flames when he heard the constant loud echoes across the hall.

"This is horrendous! You guys are acting like a bunch of middle school novices!" Enora huffed at the scene while rooted to the spot.

"And _this_ is what makes things interesting!" Axentrio said gleefully. The sorcerer went forward to pick up a few loots and joined the throwing fest.

"That's just stupi-"

Enora was interrupted abruptly when a flying skel-bone came bumping onto her forehead, causing an unexpected outburst from the young lady. "WHICH SON OF A ***** THREW THAT!" It only took the enraged priestess a few seconds to join in the fray.

Kyler and co were still discussing on what type of liquid could the clue meant. With the chaos still going on however, it was difficult for them to maintain their concentration. Just before they reached their limit, another item came flying, landing with a crash on the stone door. An orange liquid known as Detrimindexta was splashed all over the green surface which formed a big blotch.

The fluid was disappearing in a languid manner. It seeped slowly into the stone door, followed by a familiar deep rumbling sound.

Apparently, it was the liquid they were all trying to figure out that was needed to open the door.

"…."

"I guess there's a benefit to this chaos."

As Alyth stood up, an object hits her shoulder. She turned her head to see the brownish-yellow goo dripping sluggishly on her light purple hair. The baffled rune knight wasn't going to stand there and do nothing any longer.

"Everyone, would you PLEASE stop it this instant! The door has already opened!"

Nobody was paying attention despite her sudden yell.

"I think we should just wait for them to calm down, it's not easy stopping a bunch of..younglings." Leyra patted Alyth on her back. The wanderer was still feeling bubbly, her jet black layered shoulder-length hair brushing gently against the nape of her neck whenever she giggled.

After calming down, Alyth looked at her childhood friend, laughing happily as she tried to exact revenge on a certain blond but got double the payback instead. "I can't believe Gwen would let herself get all messy like that…" But seeing how her high-maintenance junior knight was enjoying this little skirmish, a small smile crept over her face.

Kyler glanced at the heated loot fight for a brief moment. The ranger shook his head as he walked pass the door, along with his warg. "I'm going ahead."

"Hold on..shouldn't we wait for them? The hint does not appear until everyone gets inside the stairway. You can't be serious about taking out an unknown boss class… alone?"

Kyler paused when the rune knight stopped him with a question.

"I'm just going to check around the place, so I'll be waiting till… the rest are actually ready." At that, he ascended the stairs, while the minstrel followed along.

"I'll be going ahead too, can't leave the organizer alone can I?" Jackerel smiled as he turned his back to Alyth and Leyra.

Alyth let out a helpless sigh. The whole place was nothing but a huge mess.

In the midst of the battlefield, Axentrio managed to crawl his way behind a wooden cart. A genetic and a guillotine cross were already hiding behind it, using it as a shield.

"Ha! Those bastards are no match against my super pitch!" Luke snickered while gathering all the junks he could find on the floor.

"Mine, better." Sven replied casually, looking for his next potential target.

"It doesn't matter how good your throw is, a perfect material is the key." The red head blends in with them as he takes a silver bottle filled with oil from the cart, lights it on fire and threw it to the opposite side.

"Woah, woah, dude, watch it. You might hurt somebody." The blond stared at the sorcerer's action, but remained amused.

"No big deal, there are bishops on the other side."

"I didn't say that I mind. It's a wicked idea, which is downright awesome!"

"You and I seem to have a share of common opinions." Axentrio smirked at Luke's reply. He knew it was the right decision to join this escapade into the Endless Tower after all. His interest, however, lies far beyond the depths of the tower. Who knows what kind of clashes awaits them at the top?

Despite that, everyone seemed to have forgotten the fact that they're in a tower that supposedly held a record of death rolls.

XxxxxX

"Ah, wait up. You always look like you're in a hurry or something, slow down will you?" The minstrel panted slightly while adjusting his minstrel hat after he managed to reduce the distance between him and the fast-paced ranger.

"I have no time to waste on pointless actions. A perfect reminder; we're still on floor 19. There's still a whole lot further from reaching our destination."

"Why yes it is." Jack nodded in agreement. "But think of it this way, it's _already_ the nineteenth floor. We're gradually making our way up now, don't you think? I suggest that you rest up before the next big fight."

"…This isn't some normal journey where you have fun adventures, have a good night's rest in an inn, and then proceeds to another place by teleporting, if that's what you're getting at." Kyler said with a sarcastic tone. He shrugged and sighed in defeat nonetheless. "I guess we'll have a longer break. After this boss battle, if that helps."

The minstrel couldn't help but chuckle at his reply. "You're a pretty weird guy. You come up with funny remarks, yet you manage to say it with that straight face of yours."

Jack's last sentence caused Kyler to stare at him for a few seconds, like he had no idea what just came out of the man's mouth.

"I mean..you're always putting on a serious front all the time ahahaha… Ahem, don't mind me." Feigning a cough, Jack laughed nervously before he continued. "Anyway, we've defeated the Golden Thief Bug, Mistress, both Phreeoni and Maya so far. I'm quite sure we'll be able to deal with the rest as well."

"…for now."

"Hmm..? Is there something bothering you?" Jack asked questioningly.

"If you hadn't realized this already, the monsters are increasingly stronger floor by floor. Based on the rumored loots, the bigger fish have yet to come in play. I wouldn't be this confident..no, _naive_ if I were you."

"Of course, if those rumors were true…"

"Which explains why no one ever came back. Whatever's on the higher floors, they're waiting for us. And they're going to kill."

"Our fate depends on which path we choose as well. Have a little faith in your comrades. They came to you after your announcement after all, haven't they?"

"Oh really? From what I saw a moment ago, it looked like they weren't actually serious about the whole thing."

"Ahhh, that's what people call youth. When I was your age, I was pretty energetic too. I would try doing outrageous things and go through extraordinary journeys. It's very normal for them I'll say." Jack chuckled softly, reminiscing his adventurous days.

"Well, you're wrong. I'm not like them."

"Kyler, sometimes your way of doing things makes me wonder if you're really in it for the zeny.."

"Is that so?"

"Haha, I'm only joking. Here's a little advice from me; relax, straining yourself now would bring great consequences in the future."

"Bringing up your opinion of my future holds no water, because I'll be the only one to decide my own fate." The ranger continued walking forward, never letting his guard down, never letting anything faze him.

"I always do."

* * *

**A/N:**

If you've visited my profile and clicked on the link, you may have noticed that a scene from this chapter was sketched and posted as well. If you have not, feel free to do so!

Stay tuned~


	6. Rising Pyre

**A/N:**

Hi peeps, had a good Christmas? We certainly hope you did! =)

We have two important things to say though;

For one, we apologize if this chapter may seem "slow" to you. Well, think of it as the "foundation" for the upcoming chapters.

And second, it might take an extra while to finish the next chapter, with new year's coming up and all. *runs away*

Nonetheless, we hope you enjoy this one! Go Axen, go!

* * *

Rising Pyre

_Skin cremates upon the touch of a fiery blade, wisps of crimson smoke that followed dissolves into the hazy air. A repetition of a nightmare, like a broken record covered in flames._

_Here on, lives one who is nothing but an empty shell, looking for petty reasons to be alive, struggling to stay away from death as far as possible, otherwise what was sacrificed are for naught._

_However, it brings no difference to Rune Midgard, no one hears a thing, no one bats an eyelid, a journey to endless resulted in ashes blown with the wind, unheard of._

_He cannot feel another person's touch, or the temperature of a sudden breeze, not even pain. All that lingers are the flames of the Naght blade, carved into the senses, burning like no other._

_He sought for assistance, to be able to regain what was lost, but it all turns out to be in vain. It is never brought up again, not within this time of peace; hope is something you can barely grasp, as it slowly slips away, fading into nothingness._

_Or so it would seem, for it was heard once again, out of the blue, in a place as simple as a bar. Funny how fate just waltz by unexpectedly, if fate even exist._

_He hesitated, but he has to go back, no, he must go back. The voices at the back of his head became louder as thoughts came seeping in. It became something like a melody, ringing into his ears, perhaps it is the cries of the dead souls igniting inside the flames of the endless, cursed by Naght eternally._

_It is answers that he seeks by revisiting this nightmare once more, releasing the torments of the dead is another, and endless became a word not only for the tower itself._

* * *

It was dim as if the tower just switched itself into night mode. Even with the light from the torches, the overall surrounding is the same as always; gloomy and gray.

The man blinked slightly to get a better view of the place. _Where is everyone? Or even the monsters?_

He took a step forward, only to have his feet bumped into an unknown object. A faint noise was heard under him. He then bent down for a closer look on what's lying on the concrete floor.

He froze immediately upon seeing what he never wanted to see again.

There lies a corpse by his feet. His eyes strayed just to see more corpses. Everyone was on the floor, engulfed in flames, still and dead.

The man flinched at the sight of the horrible scene, shocked and devastated. His only support to keep his balance was the cold concrete wall as he leaned his back against it. Before he could take a deep breath to calm himself, a slight movement alerted his senses yet again.

Fear crept into his body and soul when a cadaver lying nearest to him rose up repulsively. A stab wound of a sword through its chest was still visible amongst the torn bits of a monk's robe that hung loosely, still clinging from its charred rotten body.

"_It's your fault, all your fault…."_ The figure closes up the distance between them, enough for it to clamp its hands around the man's neck to strangle him.

"Aaarrrghhhhhhhhh!"

"WOAH CHI- SHIT! WHAT-THE-HELL WAS THAT FOR MAN?!"

He opened his eyes in a flurry. Beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead all the way to his chin, obscuring his vision in the process. He blinked once, then twice, before a mass of blond hair came into focus.

"Do you rangers have a habit of pointing arrows blindly or something? What's your name again? Blaise? F*ck, you almost killed me you damn bastard!"

The ranger looks around hastily; he spotted an arrow stuck on the opposite side of the wall. _His_ arrow.

Not too far away from where he was resting were some of the other group members engaging in conversations about the previous battles.

"And that's how I slay the haunting Drake with my awesome psychic wave." Axentrio said proudly with a giant smirk across his face.

"Right, that's great of you… I guess." Enora felt the urge to roll her eyes, why did she bother listening was beyond her.

"That is, after I managed to heal you in time before you get water-balled to death." Reseph added in the midst of the conversation.

"What are you talking about? I have no idea." The sorcerer averted his eyes on purpose.

"…You sure have a lot of ways to set people off, don't you think?"

"Pffft, I'm a sorcerer, magic like those don't stand a chance against me. Even Moonlight's fire bolt was nothing but a kitty scratch. I don't need heals mind you."

"So you admit I healed you after all."

"What makes you think that?

"You just said it."

"No I didn't."

"…What on earth are you two arguing about really…" Enora sweatdropped at the bantering duo.

"HEY?! Are you even listening to me!? At least apologize you freak!"

Luke snarled angrily, he was surprised when he saw the bandaged ranger screaming in agony, as if he saw something malicious. So he approached him…only for the ranger to stand up all of a sudden and instantly fire an arrow right at him. It was pure dumb luck that the arrow passes through his right side. Had he moved a millimeter, he's screwed, at point blank range. _So much for checking._

"I…"

As Blaise opens his mouth, he paused. Should he explain what he had seen? Would it do the situation any good? The more he thinks about it the more it made him uneasy, _perhaps it's better to drop the subject altogether. _

"Nevermind...I'm sorry about that... genetic, I was having a bad dream."

"Well you better be, and it's LUKE by the way." Luke crossed his arms and huffed.

Kyler, who was walking by, cocked an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. He continued his way to the exit.

"Since we had our rest, let's get going." He announced to the others.

* * *

The party was standing on the stairs leading to the thirtieth floor, waiting for the wall in front of them to form a sentence that may help aid their battle. They have accustomed themselves in doing this routine every five floors.

The process was the same as ever; sandy surface shifting and changing to form embedded wordings. Except this time it read:

_*A heavenly messenger once led astray; the keeper of ivory and unwavering faith.*_

As usual, most of the members have left the task of figuring out what the next MVP is to Reseph. Despite his relaxed personality, he was clearly proven to be the brains of the group; being able to uncover hints and solve riddles in a short amount of time. Gwen, curious and straightforward a girl that she was, did ask the bishop once on where did he obtain his exceptionally vast knowledge about the MVPs from. He only answered that it has become a hobby of his to research on various monsters.

Not wasting time, Reseph started to put his knowledge to use. _Could it be…White Lady from the celestial realm?_ He was on the mark but something else bothered him. _But she's supposed to be the MVP who occupies the innermost Lou Yang dungeons. Are there two of them? _

"Hmmmm…"

"What's wrong? Have you figured it out yet?" asked Jack, a hint of concern in his voice.

"The position of a heavenly messenger is usually bequeathed to a celestial maiden so I'm pretty sure that the hint is pointed to White Lady but…"

"But…?"

"We could be facing her sister or someone related instead."

Kyler raised his eyebrow a second time that day. _A sister of a MVP?_ While wanting to voice out his own thoughts, Kyler realized it would only be a waste of time, instead he said "Let's find out."

The first thing that the party were greeted with when they stepped foot into the room was a sweet-smelling lotus scent. The next thing that floated in front of their eyes was translucent strips of velvety soft silk. They automatically looked up above their heads to see where the silk was coming from. It was more than what they expected. Maidens in beautiful silk dresses were giggling and dancing in mid-air, their head canvased with lustrous long straight black hair, secured with a lotus flower ornament in the middle, and a long translucent heavenly robe across their shoulder to finish the divine ensemble.

"Am I in heaven?" Axentrio blinked a few times to make sure, but the graceful creatures remained hovering above them.

"I can burn you again if you want to know." The warlock offered.

The royal guard eyed the dancing maidens, stirring up the sub-conscious part of his memory. "I've seen these beings before, somewhere inside the dungeons of Gonryun... if I'm not mistaken..."

"I think they are celestial nymphs." Reseph voiced his conclusion.

"Nymphs you say? I think they're giving us a warm welcome! We should be their honored guests! I mean who wouldn't want to be in the company of a holy maiden, those who agree, raise up their hands!" and the sorcerer started to wave at the ladies.

"Axentrio, cut that out, you're a disgrace!" Resplen retorted until the genetic and the assassin held up their hands too. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Hell yeah, finally something worthwhile after all that crap we've been through." Joining Axentrio, Luke waved his hand to capture the maidens' attention as well.

"Guys, this is the endless tower we're talking about, isn't it obviously a trap?!" Disapproving their reckless actions, Enora tried to stop them by hitting their arms with her mace.

"Well said, priestess. Looks like there's more to come." added Kyler, who has a knack for not letting anything distract him.

Twenty or more of them have gathered around the party during their short exchange of opinions.

"Get ready to battle, seems like they're hostile after all." Kyler took an arrow off his quiver.

"Eh, I get attacked by women all the time alright." Axentrio said gleefully but took out his cane anyway as the rest followed suit.

The giggling stopped, replaced by a tensed silence. A stern look in the creature's eyes signal the charge towards the human crowd.

All of a sudden, a tender voice stopped the nymphs one step short from attacking. The owner of the voice was revealed to be a beautiful maiden clothed in the most dazzling silk dress anyone has ever seen. Her simple yet elegant dress which seems to shimmer in the light was a combination of white and red, complimented by a green sash around her waist. Long sleeves covered her slim arms that fluttered at a steady rhythm. Her long chestnut brown hair flowed gently behind her back. As seen on the celestial nymphs, an even longer translucent heavenly robe was draped around her elegant figure, floating seamlessly behind and above her head like a crowned halo. White Lady was accompanied by five celestial nymphs as she approached the group of humans.

"I'm sorry for the disrespectful behavior of my attendants, brave heroes. We did not mean to attack you." The maiden paused to see if there were any complains. Most of the members, however, were still staring at her in awe.

She curved her lips and smiled. "They are a playful bunch. Please forgive them."

Still in doubt, Resplen wanted affirmation. "Are you sure they're just playful?"

"Yes, I'm very sure. I would like you to think that we are your allies." The maiden waved her hand lightly as an order for the nymphs to step back.

"Allies? What do you mean? I thought we were supposed to fight all the monsters in here?" Gwen blurted her uncertainty, a look of confusion plastered across her face.

"Yes, but I have my own special circumstances you see. I am not very much affected by Naght's control for a reason."

"Huh? Naght's control?" The rune knight's question was answered, but now she was clearly lost in the conversation.

"Patience, child. Take a seat and listen to what I have to say."

The members were reluctant to believe whether this peaceful gathering was happening; especially Blaise who is distracted in his own thoughts searching for a recollection of this unexpected occurrence. But he found nothing, _this has never happened before_, he convinced himself.

Conclusively, everyone figured that they didn't have much choice, considering there is nowhere else to go from here.

After settling themselves on the concrete floor, Reseph was the first to speak up. "Excuse me, just a quick question; are you really _the_ White lady?"

The maiden tilted her head at the surprising question. "Why do you ask?"

Seeing her response, the bishop hesitated before answering, "Because there were adventurers who witnessed you roaming in Lou Yang dungeons."

"Ah yes. And that is where I shall start my side of the story."

White Lady re-told the story of what happened 500 years ago, truths that were unheard of by this generation. She admitted that she once hated humans because of what a fisherman did to her a long time ago. He secretly stole her heavenly robe which was a precious and priceless possession a maiden could have in order to fly through the heavens. Consequently, she was forced to stay on land with him when he took it away. Unable to return to her birthplace she loathed the man and all of humankind ever since. Eventhough he did return the robe to its owner many years later, her wrath still remains. So when White Lady heard that Naght was recruiting an army to control Midgard, she joined him in hopes of eradicating this uncouth species and to quell her anger towards them.

Alas, the plan was interrupted by Odin, the ruler of Asgard, and what's more, she was to be punished by either staying in Midgard or sealed in a tower for eternity. She told herself that she would rather vanish than mingle with humans. However, at the same time she could not bear the thought that this was really the end of her. So before Odin could seal the entire dark army into the dreaded tower, she made an apparition of herself and hid in the first cave that she came across. Her apparition was to be her eyes and ears of the outside world.

As decades passed, she has met many travelers that explored the cave. An encounter with a particular young man changed her perception on humans entirely. She could never have imagined that a human could be filled with so much love for the other, to the point of sacrificing oneself. This experience has opened her eyes to the kind side of human nature. Thus, she no longer hates them and even tried to help adventurers who unknowingly wandered into her new residence.

Finishing the last line to her significant story, the maiden stopped to look at the heroes once more. The stunned silence says it all. They could not believe what they have just heard. Did such a tragedy really happen in Midgard?

Moving closer to the group, White Lady continued. "The black stain on the edge of my heavenly robe is the proof of my sin. I would like to atone for it by helping you defeat Naght once and for all."

"Would you happen to have any information that we could make use against Naght?" Jack asked politely, snapping out of deep thoughts.

"Frankly speaking, he is an enigma. Sadly, I have never seen what he's truly capable of. Even during the siege, he did not unleash his full power so I cannot help you with that. I can only advice you to stay away from his ill omen flames."

Few of the members sighed upon hearing the bad news.

"However, I can provide you with information about this tower."

"Hn, better than nothing." Kyler commented, as indifferent as always.

The maiden looked up to the ceiling, as if the night sky was right there, veiled in black with a luminous full-moon decorating the dark canvas, its gentle streaks of light illuminating the room. But all that exist were dark-colored bricks, stretching from one end to the other. "This tower consists of hundred and one floors, with Naght residing at the highest floor where he can oversee the tower as well as the skies."

"A _hundred _and one? You've got to be joking?!" Luke instantly bellowed.

Ignoring Luke's outburst, Reseph stood up. Something else about the residence of this tower was bothering him. "How are the monsters in here still alive after the invasion ten years ago? Considering that we were able to defeat them, they should not be immortal."

Lifting the hem of her flowing sleeve towards her lips, the maiden put some thought into it before answering. "Yes..indeed. We have been stripped of our immortality the moment we were sealed in here. I was defeated ten years ago, but brought back to life by Naght soon afterwards. He is the owner of mysterious powers. He _must_ be defeated."

"I..see. There's one more thing I'd like to ask, were you the one who set up the clues and hints to help us get through?"

"No..." the maiden replied, slowly shaking her head. "The one who built this tower was none other than Odin himself. I believe he knew that the possibility of Naght escaping exist and in the case where the Allfather could not interfere, this system that he created will be able to train and cultivate the qualities that a hero should possess. Because defeating Naght Seiger is no child's play my friend."

"Yes..we are made aware of that…" The bishop responded sullenly.

To break the tense atmosphere, Alyth too stood up and walked over to show her gratitude. "Thank you, fair maiden. You have been kind enough to share your story and it was most informative."

"But there are still many mysteries surrounding this tower," the armored royal guard stated. "Why did the tower appear here ten years ago, in Midgard? Why did Naght even attacked us in the first place?" Resplen tried to emphasize on the important issues that were not disclosed.

"I suppose something else happened ten years ago that led us here, but I'm not certain. As for his purpose.. I do not know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You've helped us plenty." Leyra responded unexpectedly. She understood the gravity of the situation and the seriousness of the problems that they are facing, but the dancer genuinely sympathized with the maiden as well.

"So…are there perhaps more than one ways to get out of here?" Jack inquired as he gently squeezes on his wife's shoulder to comfort her.

White Lady was still wearing a sad expression when she answered the minstrel. "I'm afraid the only way out, is up."

"Uhm..that said, will you let us pass without having to fight?" The carnation pink haired arch bishop was hoping, praying even, that they do not have to fight against a kind soul.

"Of course." A smile instantly brightened the bishop's face. The others were standing up one after the other by now. "Before you go, take these." The maiden handed Reseph a palm-sized yellow fruit shaped like a bell and a cloth made of red silk to Alyth who was standing beside her.

Both of the recipients looked at their gift inquisitively. It was the first time that they've seen such exquisite items.

"The fruit is called Yggdrasil berry; taken from the World Tree, it is filled with the essence of life. A bite of it will increase one's recovery speed, take it whole and it will help one recover from injuries in less than half a day. But as powerful as it sounds, I'm afraid it will not heal wounds that are far too grave."

She then gestured towards Alyth and started to explain. "What you're holding there is the Red Silk Seal. I have enchanted the silk with my powers and it is used to seal evil and darkness into its crimson depths. You may have a need for it when the time comes. It only works once, so use it wisely."

Curious members crowded the two to have a look at the rare items. The recipients then gave their thanks and kept the items in their personal pouches. After all, the safest place is the one nearest to them.

After the group had an interesting inspection of the items, the celestial nymphs that were floating around them dissipated one by one; like a puff of smoke.

Gwen was surprised at this turn of events. "What's happening? Why are they gone?"

"Do not panic. My attendants were originally apparitions that I made to accompany me. I was the only one here all along."

"Oh…why did you make them disappear?"

"Because you'll have to kill me now. To open the door."

"Wh-what?! Can't you just open it for us?"

"Unfortunately, it is by Odin's will that this is how it works."

Looking at the disheartened faces, the celestial maiden explained further. "I have been here for far too long. The souls of my comrades cannot rest in peace due to Naght's power." She paused wistfully before continuing, "For the sake of your world and the future, please end this five hundred year old vengeance."

"But you'll vanish forever if we defeat you?!"

"Don't worry my dear child, the apparition in the outer world is in fact, the other half of my soul. I'll live on in the dungeons of Lou Yang from thereon."

Sighs of relief escaped from the girls. Just by knowing that her soul is not perished into oblivion is enough.

"Hm…I can't do it, even if she's asking us the favor," Jack closed his eyes and sighed.

"Don't look at me, I'm not really the type to hurt women, well, mostly." Axentrio turned his head to the warlock. "Zai?"

"Ending a celestial maiden's life huh... not something I can really live with."

"I'm not up for the job either."

"Katars...painful."

"I'm pretty sure Gin can end this with his megasura strike."

Gin shook his head furiously in rejection.

The members started to debate on who should do it; shifting the responsibility from left to right until a ranger finally volunteered.

"_I'll_ do it." Kyler offered. "I don't see why this is so difficult; she's still a monster after all."

"That's mean of you, Kyler." Gwen looked at the ranger with disapproving eyes.

"Stop it Gwen, it needs to be done. We're counting on you, Kyler. I hope you can grant her a painless death." While upset about the inevitable outcome, Alyth remained firm as she knows they were given no other choice in order to move forward.

"Hmph." Only a grunt was heard as response from the ranger.

Resplen, knowing that the girls will be saddened by White Lady's death, suggested that they go on ahead to wait at the exit while Kyler prepares himself to do what he had to do. Soon after, the ranger and the maiden were left alone.

"So you are the one who started all this I see," said White Lady as Kyler pulled out an Earth-imbued arrow.

"Indeed. Considering that you're an MVP, how should I put an end to this quickly..."

"An arrow through the heart will certainly end it."

"I see. Anything else before I do the deed?"

"Personally, I have nothing more to add, but just let me ask you this. What are your intentions for coming into this tower? Is it for the valuables... or perhaps..."

Kyler froze for a moment, but remained stern. "Even you huh, what does it matter to you anyway?"

"Child, it seems to me that you are clouded by ego and is lost in your own judgment. I can feel the obscurity surrounding you, what is it that you seek?"

"Are you finished?"

"I hope whatever that is lurking inside you does not come back to haunt you in the end. That is all."

"I'll manage." With the release on his grip; Kyler shot the arrow, propelling it in a straight trajectory, ultimately hitting its target with accuracy. It went through White Lady's heart and had served its purpose.

As the celestial maiden's body slowly turns transparent and begins to fade, her soul burst into millions of tiny sparkles that lit up the room, gently floating upwards and through the ceiling. As the door to the next floor opens upon White Lady's death, the other members lowered their heads in prayer, hoping that the freed maiden made it back to the heavens.

The arrow that Kyler shot with fell with a clatter, followed by a transient silence. All that was heard throughout the room was the echo of the maiden's last words.

_Heroes of Midgard,_ _I wish you good luck._

XxxxxX

While ascending the stairs, a sudden afterthought came across the blond genetic. "Hey, if those celestial nymphs were her apparitions all along, does that mean the lady intended to mess with us from the start?!"

A few of them stopped in their tracks and thought about it. Putting the two and two together, it does seem to arrive to that conclusion.

"Well damn, she got us alright."

* * *

**A/N:**

Does White Lady's back story sound familiar? You got it. We've used an Asian folklore as reference. She fits the image doesn't she?

Reviews are very welcomed! Let us know what you think about the story so far. Some constructive criticisms could do us good. x)

And I swear, it gets better _after_ the next chapter. So stay tuned~~~


	7. Cloak-and-Dagger

**A/N:**

Hey ho peeps!

First of all, thank you for the reviews! It certainly brightened up our day. We as well, hope that all of you will continue to support us till the end! And don't worry, there is definitely more to come for Luke! x3

This may be another slow chapter, but you get to take a peek at the mystery~

If you are ready, then let's boogie!

* * *

Cloak-and-Dagger

After a heartfelt wish from the holy maiden, the adventurers go forth to face the challenges that await them. While filled with determination to down Naght Sieger for good…perhaps, not all of their goals are the same?

XxxxxX

Somewhere within the floors of the tower, a bold scream from a certain blond can be heard across the vast room.

"AAaaargh! Why is it chasing me? Why is he so fast he's a bloody turtle for odin's sake! Get it away from me!" Luke yelled at the top of his lungs, dragging his precious cart along with him as the Turtle General chased after the poor genetic.

At a certain distance, more than half of the melees were occupied with the turtle minions. The reptile's tough cartilaginous shell was proving to be hard to deal with indeed. It takes a considerable amount of strength to damage the carapace and this took time and effort, especially the rock-shelled Soldiers.

On the other hand, Kyler focused his aim on the turtle general but immediately retracted when the genetic increased his speed with the cart boost skill, making it harder for an accurate shot, much to his annoyance. Further behind Luke and the MVP was royal guard Resplen, who tried his best to get a good reach on the agile turtle.

"Luke! You need to stop boosting your speed. You're making it too quick for me to catch up."

"Damn it, Resplen! Do I look like a fucking tank to you?! It would be the end of me if I slowed down!" The genetic rebutted while glancing backwards, before he realized it the turtle was already on his tail. "Oh shit, can't your chicken go any faster?!" A sudden surge of overwhelming fear made Luke lose his balance and ends up tripping on his own foot.

"Noooooooo!"

Out of reflex and an act of self-defense, Luke closed his eyes shut and fires an acid demonstration at the turtle's direction. Deprived of any chance to react, the turtle wailed in response as the acid splashed on its scaled skin, eventually killing it.

"Heeeeelpp-" Not knowing what to expect, Luke slowly opened his left eye to take a peek at what had become of his chaser. "-eh? I did it? HEY I DID IT, now will you take a look at that!" The panic-stricken genetic immediately got up to his feet, patting imaginary dust off of his shoulders.

"As expected of Luke! Congratulations, you finally did something useful this chapter." From a safe distance, Axentrio and Sven were clapping for the now gloating genetic.

"Heh, I'm a beast when I want to be." Luke did not hesitate to brag about his _accidental _achievement, his previously horrified self nowhere to be seen.

"Is that really something to be proud of?" Gwen was walking towards him as she made a pity look on her face on purpose, "the turtle was weakened you know?"

"Shut up! I wonder who was the one who shoved me right in front of the MVP in the first place. KYAAAA she said, shoved my face right at the tip of the axe, I almost got killed you stupid brat!" Luke sneered at the younger knightess.

"What!? You happened to be the closest- I mean you've been doing nothing up till now, it's time for someone like you to be a hero for once!" Gwen snapped back at the blond then promptly bends down to pick up something that she had her eyes on ever since the turtle was defeated. It was a one-handed, bluish semi-translucent sword. In place of a solid blade was the formless energy of the imbued Ghost property, and the hilt is painted a glistening silver embellished with a deep red oval ruby.

"Aaand this Immaterial Sword is mine now!" She was excited to finally get ahold of a rare weapon, aside her existing Elemental Sword.

"You damn brat! Give it to me! I earned it!"

"Too bad, this is not for the likes of you!" Gwen stuck her tongue out at the growling genetic, quickly making her way to hide behind her senior.

"Hey...stop this already. Act mature for once, and I do mean the both of you." Alyth could only sigh at their childish dispute.

All the while, Leyra looked at the young'uns with amusement. "Such a lively bunch, have they already forgotten what White Lady said to them…"

"Well, at times like these you'll have to appreciate them lightening the mood for us. It wouldn't help if we're all feeling gloomed all the time now would it?"

Soft giggles escaped from Leyra's rose-colored lips. "Mm..you're right." Shifting her current thoughts to reminiscence she recalled, "this reminds me of those good old times we had with our friends."

Jack smiled in agreement at his wife, but deep inside a thought occurred to him.

Even if it was not as obvious, the minstrel believed that most of the youngsters are undoubtedly shaken by the words of White Lady. It would not do well for the team as distraction is often one of the downfalls in battles. Thus, he made a decision that could help all of them relax and come to terms with the current situation at their own pace.

"Kyler, I'd like to propose that we stop and have a good long rest. I believe the other members are pretty worn out by now, what do you say?" Jack slings back his guitar as he looked at the organizer, expecting a good reply in return.

The ranger in brown glanced at the minstrel. Personally, the short exchange of words between him and the holy maiden did bothered him a bit, not to mention the previous conversation with Jack himself, _what is with everyone, talking as if they knew him_, this irritates him to no end.

"Fine. I'll be expecting a better performance the moment we continue."

"Aha! Now we're talking, in fact, I have so much to talk about with all of you now you see!" Jack chuckled.

"Keep it to yourself, minstrel. We'll be heading out when I say so. Get some rest till then." With that, the ranger walked away and settled his weapons down on the floor near the lower ground entrance.

"Ah…what a shame, my friend."

* * *

Gloom as the place may be, the usual silence and stiff atmosphere was broken by the strumming of native music, roars of laughter, and the joyous sounds of celebration.

"Heh, today must be your lucky day because you can't start a party without these!" Held up in between Luke's fingers were bottles of various shapes and sizes containing different types of booze.

Cheers were heard as they started pouring the classic yellow-brown liquid filled to the brim of their own mugs.

Conversely, as a gourmet lover, Resplen was the one who often provides the group with decent food. Everyone was now sitting on empty turtle shells in a circle, their respective mounts behind them, surrounding the half-cooked roast pork. The royal guard had taken a standing torch nearby as a substitute for a roast contraption. The delectable smell of roast meat was wafting through the air, tingling each of their nostrils and stimulating their appetite.

As they wait patiently for the delicacy to be fully-cooked, a certain sorcerer decided to make the party livelier. "Now listen, you fools! Do as I say and the riches shall be yours!" shouted the red head within the crowd, earning laughter from the audience. It is not that they had anything against a certain ranger, but the said organizer had been draining the energy out of the group just by being uptight all the time, _now where's the fun in that?_

"Oh, come on Axen, you're not quite right, let me help you with that." The blond genetic interfered and tried to take over the act.

"Ooookay, let me guess, y'all cowards just wasting your time and fooling around in a pub, I get it now, hahahhaaa noobs."

"Not bad Luke, I think something's missing though..." Axentrio stated.

To the left of Luke, Sven drags an old left-behind crate to the center of the formation, getting a confused look from the others.

Luke made way for the crate and asked, "What's this for? Dude, you're so weird all the time."

"Stand...this." The assassin answered. Ever since the ship incident, the masked man's speech and actions have been more than bizarre. While almost as quiet as Gin, Sven however, did spoke a few words; words that are hardly understood, that is.

"I think he means you need to stand on the crate to make the perfect imitation." The sorcerer gave a guess, taking into consideration what Sven could have meant.

"Oh yeaah. I almost forgot about that!" The genetic stepped on the old but sturdy crate. Straightening himself up, he then took a deep breath.

The crowd knew what was coming.

A roar of laughter was so loud it travelled across the hall, all the way to the corner near the entrance where the ranger sat. In front of him was a stack of arrows arranged in an orderly manner; most of them were plain wooden shafts. Beside him was a bag full of various elemental ores and enchanted stones that he picked up along the way in endless.

The laughter grew louder and he could have sworn that he heard his name in it, but the ranger simply rolled his eyes as he continued to carve a triangular shape with a pointed tip out of a Crystal Blue. Completed ones were already attached to one end of each wooden shaft as arrowheads.

"Keep this in your skulls wimpppps, as this Endless Tower party will be the one where everyone will come back with everything and anything they've dreamed of, be it fame or fortune!" Luke mimicked a certain someone with great accuracy. "Except, the fortune is mine to take of course."

"Gosh, a job well done on breaking out of character, Luke." Enora remarked with sarcasm.

"Oh, come on. As if you lot aren't here for that!" Luke countered the bishop with his arms crossed.

"Hey! We have our own reasons to come here, you know?"

"Yeah, like what? I can't seem to think of reasons other than what Mr all-about-me said, all fame and fortune, or a stupid adventure, there can't be other reasons that make you send yourselves to your deaths, no?"

"...well.." The laughter begun to fade as soon as the blond shot out the question. It seems as though everyone was somehow troubled by it.

"Alright, alright. Luke, you are right about that." Jack stood up and walked towards the center, stopping beside the genetic as he hopped down the crate.

"Just so it's made clear, Leyra and I, are very much here for the riches." Jack said as he smiled at the crowd.

"But that is not all." He paused to strum the strings of his Green Acre guitar to produce a melancholy tone. "We are here for a cause, a cause to create happiness. Those riches we seek shall be given to residents that live in the slums on the outskirts of Comodo."

"Awww, how kind." Gwen was impressed at how genuine their reason was. As opposed to her, whose reason was just to seek a thrilling adventure that she had always wanted.

"A slum nearby Comodo?" Enora questioned. "I've always thought Comodo as a joyous place." She remembered the time when she was there with a dear friend – the town was bustling during the day and a blowout when night fell.

"Indeed, it is." Jack did not deny the fact. "Comodo is well-known for being the town of entertainment and parties. Nonetheless, every light is accompanied by its shadow. Comodo has its dark side as well."

"A dark side…?" Reseph inquired the older man with curiosity, a hint of newfound interest to the topic.

"Hmm... I don't think I want to ruin the mood, since it has nothing to do with your personal lives."

"Do tell us what you're on about, maybe we can get a better understanding of your situation." Alyth spurred the minstrel on.

The others nodded in agreement. After all, there's no harm in hearing what he has to say.

"Is it really alright...?"

"Why not? The stage's all yours, Jack." Axentrio did a gesture with his arms, implying that the minstrel should take his place as the center of attention now.

"Thank you, Axentrio. Boy...how do I start..." said Jack while scratching his head as the sorcerer settled down on an idle empty turtle shell. The blond genetic had already walked back to his seat long before Gwen's touching remark, the same goes for Sven.

"Well, I'm not sure if any of you are aware of this...but, there is a disease spreading within the slums of Comodo."

"A disease?!"

"Yes... a deadly one I might add. Specialists have developed the vaccine but to get our hands on even one batch of it costs us a heavy price."

"Oh, I heard rumours about it spreading around in Comodo. I didn't know it was that serious." Axentrio commented.

"It was a recent plague for that matter. The wealthy have no problem recovering, but I can't say the same for the poor..."

"We tried everything we could to help the victims..." Joining Jack was none other than his wife, Leyra. The wanderer stood beside her husband and heaved a sigh. "But in the end, we still require a lot more zeny to tend to each one of them and to make sure they get the medical attention they need."

Reseph stood up abruptly upon hearing what was just said, "Hold on...this is absurd. Why haven't I heard of this?!" his impulsive action caught everyone off guard.

"..."

"...and why would you, genius?" Axentrio quirked an eyebrow at the male bishop. _That was…unexpected of him.._

"Well…that's…" With a realisation of what he just did, Reseph quickly sat back down. "Nevermind… please continue."

"What about the authorities? Or the residents in Comodo? Didn't they do something about it?" Alyth asked on cue.

"I doubt they would lift a finger," replied the sorcerer in Jack's stead. "They're too ignorant for that."

"Look who's talking." The usually silent warlock couldn't help but add in, though Axentrio ignored his long-time acquaintance on purpose.

"We decided to look for someone or anyone who was willing to help us in Comodo, looking for a chance to save our friends and family, and a chance for them to leave the slums forever."

"Oh! So that's when you heard Kyler's announcement?" Gwen asked to confirm her assumption.

"Indeed." Jack nodded. "And here we are. Fighting side by side in the endless tower. Fate is unpredictable, isn't it?"

"We're glad to be able to fight alongside capable youths such as yourselves. I'm looking forward to what's installed for us, now and in the future." Leyra did a small curtsy to the listeners, lifting up her long red ribbon-sash in lieu of a dress, as a sign of gratitude.

"It is a pleasure as well." Alyth smiled back at the dancer, followed by the rest of the group, satisfied looks were plastered on most of their faces.

"Alright enough with the talking, now let's PAARTEEEEH" Luke, who's almost close to dozing off, broke the calm atmosphere with a loud boom.

The once quiet moment was soon replaced by familiar loud cheers.

A talented minstrel that he is, Jack switches his previous slow melody to a more exciting music, matching the mood of the surroundings.

"Geez, dear. I don't think I'm even finished talking." Leyra pouted at her husband.

"Haha, aren't we entertainers after all? This is what we're truly good at, Leyra." Jack chimed. "Now dear, show them what a _real _dancer can do."

Leyra giggled and does her signature swing dance. There were a lot of belly and hip shaking involved.

The boys cheered and whistled at those dance moves whereas the girls clapped and praised the elegant yet audacious dancer.

Everyone were back to where they started off, this includes the white-haired warlock who sat at the side, smirked while taking a sip from the beer on his hand, he made no effort in showing that he in fact, is enjoying the festivity at this moment.

XxX

After savoring a feast of cooked roast pork which everyone seems to want second helpings of, Resplen realized that Gin had strayed from the group. He was sitting alone a little further from the crowd. As the royal guard walks towards him, he noticed that the hooded boy was holding something in his hand. The material was gleaming a golden-yellow under the darkened room and seems to have a shape of an eagle in flight. A long brown cloth string was looped through the pendant hole to act as a chain, hanging from his neck. He seemed to be lost in thought while clutching the pendant ever so gingerly.

The tall man patted Gin on the shoulders so as to not startle him. "May I sit with you?" Getting a nod in response, Resplen sat at the opposite side, so that they are face-to-face. "Is that a hand-crafted pendant? Did you make it yourself?"

Gin shook his head as he shifted his gaze onto the pendant. The royal guard noted that every time Gin looked at the pendant, a hint of sadness is shown in his pure silvery-grey eyes. "It's very well maintained, must be very important to you." Resplen commented, in an attempt to cheer him up.

The sura reached for something in his medium-sized satchel and pulled out a pencil and a small writing pad. This was the first time ever since he joined the escapade that he got to use the stationaries. He started to scribble something on the notepad and showed what was written to Resplen a few seconds later.

_I've had it with me ever since I can remember. Grandpa said it was with me when he found me._

Resplen read and soon after, a slightly concerned look on his face. "Found you..? Gin...what do-"

The royal guard was about to ask what he meant when he got interrupted by none other than the energetic Gwenalyn. "Gin! Resplen! What are you doing sitting all the way here? Come join the fun!"

"In a moment…Gin was just conversing with me through his notepad."

"Really? What were you writing, Gin?"

A sudden realization dawned on him that people were still calling him by his makeshift nickname. The person himself has gotten so used to it that he totally forgot to tell them his real name. The silver-haired sura flipped to an empty page and proceeded to make use of this chance that may not come by as easily again.

_My name is Cazil._

"Oh my, you should have said so ages ago!"

As Gwen ran back halfway to where she came from she announced eagerly to the others, "Hey guys! Guess what? Gin's real name is Cazil!"

"That's a nice name. But Gin wasn't too bad was it? We've all seem to have gotten used to it." Jack responded to Gwen's sudden announcement.

"No, no." Resplen, who immediately rebuffed Jack's statement, turned to look at the bigger group. "Eventhough I was the one who suggested the nickname, a name is proof of a person's identity. It is only right for us to call him by his given name from now on." He turned to face the sura once more. "Good to know, Cazil."

Cazil was more than happy to have his real name called again. Discarding his initial concerns about what Cazil told him about the pendant, Resplen decided to hold on to that thought till next time. Wouldn't want to ruin the cheerful momentum now would he?

XxX

Between the higher and the lower grounds, not far where the party was held, stood another loner. Unlike Kyler, he made no effort to converse with anyone in particular, like he's avoiding the group altogether. While Kyler was preparing for the upcoming battles, Blaise stayed rooted at the spot in the middle of the room, staring at the seething fire. Although eerie, it was the only thing that soothed him more than anything.

A shadowy figure, clad in broken armor, stood beside the bandaged ranger. Blaise was not bothered by the strange presence at all, as if it was a common phenomenon.

Amidst the sounds of laughter filling the entire room, a deep calm voice could be heard beside him, all the other noise seems to fade into the background as it spoke.

_You should be joining them, why are you isolating yourself, Blaise?_

"...it would be for the best," answered the ranger. Not moving from his spot he continued, "It's better if I keep myself away. I'm doing more harm than good after all."

_That is not true, and you know that. What good will it bring if you keep doing this to yourself. And for others as well._

"And you very well know what happened last time."

_Keeping quiet isn't going to solve anything. It never will._

"It wouldn't make a difference even if I tell them..."

_You must tell them. They must know._

"No...you're just an illusion of mine! Stop talking as if you knew, because I..I can't..."

_What is that you can't, Blaise? Why? What's stopping you?! _

Clutching his head with both his hands, so hard that his fingers were clamping masses of his maize-colored hair into a fist, the ranger tried recalling something, but just couldn't."I can't…remember!"

"Can't remember what exactly?"

Blaise immediately tensed up when a definite voice behind him was heard, alerting the ranger greatly and pulling him back to reality at the same time.

Casually placing his hands back to its original place, the ranger then looked over his shoulder to see who it was. Behind him reveals to be the mischievous sorcerer, he was grinning as though he just saw something rather amusing.

"I see that you've been standing here the whole time, and we were having so much fun at the top, well minus Kyler, I guess you guys really are lone rangers after all!" Axentrio laughs at his really bad pun.

"..."

"Alright, that was a bad joke, but eh, you looked like you were talking to someone, who was it? An imaginary friend or something?" The sorcerer inspected around the ranger, no doubt however, that there was _nothing_ there.

"...How long have you been standing here."

"Not that long, I'm just intrigued by the way you're scolding someone, it's hilarious."

"..."

"Geez you don't have to be so shy, relax a little. Come on!"

Instead of responding, Blaise averted his gaze by looking downwards, as if something interesting has suddenly appeared on the concrete floor.

"I think it's perfectly normal to talk to yourself. I mean, I talk to myself all the time when I'm alone, it's a whole lot better than keeping it bottled up, you know."

_What is with this weird sorcerer... _Blaise wondered while his eyes were still set upon the cold surface, then again, as much as weirdness goes, he is probably no different either.

"Why..."

The quiet man suddenly spoke, out of the blue.

"Why are all of you so calm? Are you not concerned about what's to come?" The ranger questioned.

"Ah... that's cause we _don't _know what's coming. We can only assume, and that's actually pretty exciting if you ask me." Axentrio chuckled.

"Doesn't the unknown bother you? What it could be?"

"So what if we don't? You sound like we're as good as dead now."

The ranger turned to look at the sorcerer for the first time, a worried expression creeping up his face. "The tower...it's not as simple as you think it is, even the fire... they're not what they seem to be..."

"Oh, is there something wrong with them?" Axentrio eyed the fiery cauldron that the ranger seems to have so much interest of.

"I'm not sure, I don't even know what I'm talking about right now... everything just seems unreal to me."

"I'd be wondering too being stuck in this tower for days, so does that explain why you're talking to yourself?" The sorcerer bombarded more questions.

"I hear…voices from time to time." Blaise sighed. "But that's not all, I..."

The ranger stopped, realizing that he just said too much to a stranger.

"It's nothing..." Blaise shook his head. "I'm just afraid, afraid that we won't be able to make it..."

_Just like that day._

"Well, aren't you going to do something about that then?" The red-head eyed the ranger, but smirked in response.

Blaise's eyes widen as he said that, as if something had come through to him. He shifted his gaze yet again onto the blazing fire.

_Well, well. This could be interesting. _The sorcerer thought.

Even if the endless tower is concealed in the unknown, the true mystery lies beneath the depths of every soul. It is without a doubt that everyone entered the tower for a reason, a secret, a true purpose.

_What kind is each one of them hiding, truly?_

* * *

**A/N:**

Okay, okay. We admit that there are a lot of "breaks" lately, but fret no more as there won't be any easygoing breaks for a while after this (hopefully).

As Luke said, enough with the talkin'.

The next chapter will definitely be more intense and will be coming very soon~ (again, hopefully). Please look forward to it!


End file.
